Eye on Drug Charities • Clinical Trials in Canada

DRUG COMPANY CHARITIES HIT WITH BIG-DOLLAR SETTLEMENTS

A flurry of agreements by pharmaceutical companies to settle alleged misuse of patient assistance programs and charities may signal a new trend in health-care fraud enforcement.

Pfizer, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Aegerion, and United Therapeutics have made settlement deals worth tens of millions of dollars—in one case more than $200 million—over allegations the companies misused charities to help poor patients in order to sell their products.

Lawyers say this may just be the tip of an iceberg and that providers need to make sure their charitable donations are just that: charity for ...