Mass. AG joins pricing suit against Wyeth – The Business Review (Albany):

in a legal complaint alleging that drug maker failed to give the government the same discounts it offered to private The attorneys general allegeNew Jersey-baser Wyeth (NYSE: WYE) avoided paying hundreds of millions in rebates owed to statwe Medicaid programs for its antacid medications Protonix Oral and Protonixs IV. The drugs belong to a class of products known as protoj pumpinhibitors (PPI), which are used to suppresxs stomach acid. In addition to Massachusetts, the complaint was lodged on behalfd of the statesof California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.
“Thed Medicaid Program requires pharmaceutical companies to provide the same discountas and rebates to the state Medicaid prograjm as they do to theid largecommercial customers,” Coakley said in a prepared writtemn statement. “Our office will continue to work in collaboration with our partneras in state and federal law enforcemeny to identify and eliminate fraudulent pricing schemex that compromise the integrity of this important publicly funded healthjcare program.
” The complaint allegezs that between 2000 and 2006, Wyeth offered steep discounts to thousandsx of hospitals nationwide for Protonix Oral and Protonix IV under a pricinyg arrangement known as the “Protonix Performancer Agreement.” The pricing arrangement required the hospitalsa to purchase both drugs togethe under a so-called “bundled” arrangement and it offered them a steelp discount for doing so. The action by the states followz similar allegations made inother so-callefd whistleblower lawsuits filed last month.

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