Abbott Labs Secures Victory Against Insurers’ RICO Charges

Two multiemployer health plans can’t recover any RICO damages from paying for drugs prescribed for off-label uses, a federal appeals court said Oct. 12 (Sidney Hillman Health Ctr. of Rochester v. Abbott Labs., 2017 BL 365691, 7th Cir., No. 17-1483, 10/12/17).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the insurers, Sidney Hillman Health Center of Rochester, N.Y., and Teamsters Health Plan Local 404, of Springfield, Mass., were simply too far removed from the alleged off-label misrepresentations made by Abbott Laboratories to physicians for the drug Depakote. Abbott, which spun off its branded drug business ...