D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb. (Photo public domain)
D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced on July 15 that the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences will pay $316,413 to the District as part of a settlement of civil allegations that it engaged in an illegal kickback scheme with doctors to promote and sell its HIV medication.
A statement released by Schwalb says Gilead allegedly violated D.C. and federal false claims laws “by paying doctors and other healthcare providers to promote and prescribe its suite of HIV medications over those marketed by its competitors.”
The statement adds, “Because the resulting insurance claims filed with the District’s Medicaid program were induced by kickbacks, they violated the District’s False Claims Act ((FCA).”
Gilead’s $316,413 payment to D.C. is part of a total of $202 million the drug company agreed to pay in April of this year to 46 states and the District to settle a lawsuit initially filed against it in 2016 over illegal kickback allegations.
“For years, Gilead Sciences illegally boosted sales by paying lavish kickbacks to doctors, and in so doing, cheated both District patients and taxpayers,” Schwalb said in his statement.
“Gilead develops, manufacturers, and sells medications for the treatment of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS,” the statement continues. “A federal and multistate investigation revealed that between 2011 and 2017, Gilead administered a kickback program for its suite of HIV medications whereby 548 healthcare providers received over $23.7 million in honoraria payments, in addition to extravagant meals and paid travel expenses,” the statement says.
It says these payments were part of Gilead’s “HIV Speaker Programs” intended to entice the doctors to prescribe Gilead’s drugs. “Throughout this period, Gilead caused claims for payment for its HIV medication – induced by the illegal kickbacks – to be submitted to the District’s Medicaid program,” Schwalb’s statement says.
In a statement at the time of the settlement in April, Gilead said it “entered into this agreement to avoid the cost and distraction of potential litigation regarding this legacy compliance matter.”
The statement adds, “Gilead’s speaker programs have served to educate healthcare professionals about the appropriate use and benefits of these important medications … Gilead’s therapies have transformed the treatment paradigm for HIV, and Gilead will continue to drive innovation to meet patients’ needs.”
While under criticism for the alleged kickback scheme, Gilead received favorable news coverage in June when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new HIV prevention medication developed by Gilead called lenacapavir that needs to be taken by injection once every six months.
Public health experts and AIDS activists called the new HIV prevention, or PrEP, drug, which testing showed to be greater than 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection, a major advancement in the years-long effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide.
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