Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., through its subsidiary Biohaven Pharmaceutical, has agreed to a $59.7 million settlement to resolve allegations of submitting false Medicare claims by paying kickbacks to healthcare providers. These kickbacks were allegedly intended to encourage the prescribing of Biohaven’s migraine medication, Nurtec ODT, prior to Pfizer’s acquisition of the company.

The U.S. government claims that between March 2020 and September 2022, Biohaven offered speaker honoraria, meals at upscale restaurants, and other incentives to healthcare professionals to induce them to prescribe Nurtec ODT. These practices allegedly violated the federal anti-kickback statute, which is designed to prevent healthcare providers from being influenced by financial incentives rather than making decisions based on medical judgment.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate emphasized that the settlement highlights the government’s commitment to ensuring that drug companies do not compromise the objectivity of physician prescribing decisions. Pfizer has since terminated the Nurtec speaker programs after acquiring Biohaven in October 2022. The settlement also resolves claims from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Patricia Frattasio, a former Biohaven sales representative, under the False Claims Act. The whistleblower provisions allowing private individuals who report fraud to receive a portion of any recovery have resulted in Frattasio being set to receive approximately $8.4 million for her role. Approximately $50.2 million of the remaining settlement constitutes the federal portion of the recovery and approximately $9.5 million constitutes a recovery for State Medicaid programs.

This resolution was achieved through a collaborative effort involving the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York. The settlement underscores the government’s continued focus on fighting healthcare fraud, and its commitment to partnering with other agencies in pursuit of these claims.