The Corporate Whistleblower Center is convinced one of the easiest ways for a medical doctor, or a healthcare professional to get rich is by exposing a pharmaceutical company for off labeling a drug product for uses not approved by the USFDA
(PRWEB) December 17, 2014
The Corporate Whistleblower Center is convinced one of the easiest ways for a medical doctor, or a healthcare professional to get rich is by exposing a pharmaceutical company for off labeling a drug product for uses not approved by the USFDA. The Center believes off labeling of drug products is a huge national issue, and they are encouraging physicians, or healthcare professionals to call them anytime at 866-714-6466 if they have specific proof.
In a November 2014 press release the Department of Justice announced Johnson & Johnson and their subsidiary Scios have agreed to pay the federal government $184 million to resolve their civil liability for the alleged false claims to federal health care programs resulting from their off-label marketing of Natrecor. This settlement resolves allegations that J&J and another of its subsidiaries, Scios Inc., caused allegedly false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to federal health care programs for the heart failure drug Natrecor.
In August 2001, the FDA approved Natrecor to treat patients with acutely decompensated congestive heart failure who have shortness of breath at rest or with minimal activity. This approval was based on a study involving hospitalized patients experiencing severe heart failure who received infusions of Natrecor over an average 36-hour period.
In a civil complaint filed in 2009 in the Northern District of California, the government alleged that, shortly after Natrecor was approved, Scios launched an aggressive campaign to market the drug for scheduled, serial outpatient infusions for patients with less severe heart failure – a use allegedly not included in the FDA-approved label and allegedly not covered by federal health care programs.
These infusions generally involved visits to an outpatient clinic or doctor’s office for four- to six-hour infusions one or two times per week for several weeks or months.
According to the November 2014 Department of Justice press release, "Among other things, Scios allegedly sponsored an extensive speaker program through which doctors were paid to tout the purported benefits of serial outpatient use of Natrecor. Allegedly Scios also urged doctors and hospitals to set up outpatient clinics specifically to administer the serial outpatient infusions, in some cases providing funds to defray the costs of setting up the clinics, and supplied providers with extensive resources and support for billing Medicare for the outpatient infusions."
The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "If you are a physician and you have well documented proof a drug company is trying to off label their product, and increase sales with speaking fees, consultancy arrangements, or paid for lavish trips we are urging you to call us at 866-714-6466, so we can tell you about the federal whistleblower reward program." http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
The whistleblower in this instance will receive $28 million.
Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center:
- Do not go to the government first if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Major whistleblowers frequently go to the federal government thinking they will help. It’s a huge mistake.”
- Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower’s information could destroy any prospect for a reward.
- Do not try to force a government contractor or corporation to come clean to the government about their wrongdoing. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, “Fraud is so rampant among federal contractors that any suggestion of exposure might result in an instant job termination, or harassment of the whistleblower. Come to us first, tell us what type of information you have, and if we think it’s sufficient, we will help find the right law firms to assist in advancing your information.”
The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality whistleblowers in every state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
Any type of insider or employee who possesses significant proof of their employer or a government contractor defrauding the federal government is encouraged to contact Corporate Whistleblower Center anytime at 866-714-6466 or via their web site at http://CorporateWhistleblowerCenter.Com
For attribution please refer to the November 2014 United States Department of Justice press release. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/johnson-johnson-pay-more-22-billion-resolve-criminal-and-civil-investigations.
Case Number: United States versus Johnson & Johnson Federal District Court
Massachusetts, Case 1:07-cv-10288-RGS
