Gilead Defeats Whistleblower’s Hepatitis C Kickback Suit (1)

Gilead Sciences Inc. stopped a whistleblower’s suit alleging that the company violated the False Claims Act by establishing sham speaker programs to give meals and vacations to high-volume prescribers of drugs to treat hepatitis C.

The whistleblower, a former Gilead sales specialist, didn’t show that the company’s speaker programs focused on inducing and rewarding prescriptions by speakers, Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a Thursday order granting Gilead summary judgment.

Only a small percentage of speaker events took place at what whistleblower Toby Travis called inappropriate venues, and therefore ...