Why Do the Feds Suspect "Criminal Offenses" at This Diabetes Drug Company?
Novo Nordisk (NVO) didn't give any details as to why it received a subpoena from the Massachusetts U.S. Attorneys office but it sure sounds ominous: The probes seeks documents
...regarding potential criminal offences relating to the company's marketing and promotion practices for the following products: NovoLog, Levemir, and Victoza.By amazing coincidence, those three diabetes drugs are the same ones listed on Novo's MedLink site, which was the subject of a recent civil lawsuit alleging lax security in the delivery of Novo's drugs to doctors offices. The site allows anyone who can obtain a doctor's DEA number -- such as a medical office assistant -- to order Novo's products, which creates a chain-of-custody problem for drugs. The Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 2006 requires strict records and supervision by doctors for drug deliveries. According to CafePharma, the anonymous gossip web site for pharma employees, Novo stopped shipping from MedLink shortly after receiving the lawsuit. There is no evidence these events are linked to the subpoena, of course.
The other clue in Novo's press release is that this involves potential "criminal" activity on the "marketing and promotion" of three drugs that all treat the same thing. For years there have been rumors that Novo has a generous speaker program in which doctors get fees for encouraging their colleagues to use Novo's products at seminars and dinners. One CafePharma drug sales rep wrote in 2010:
I think we will win on getting the most speakers for V [Victoza] and L [Levemir]. We are "buying" the business, but ultimately we will win based on the quality of our drugs once the money dries up!Novo reps also showed special concern in 2009 when industry rules were tightened to crack down on drug companies' extravagant doctor entertainment budgets. Generally, drug companies are not allowed to link speaker or consulting fees to the number of prescriptions a doctor writes. That type of activity might qualify as a violation of federal anti-kickback statutes, a criminal offense, even though it is quite common in the business. Again, there is no evidence to say that this is what the subpoena is about.
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