Friday, October 30, 2009

Amgen Sued By New York, 14 Other States

Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen is the subject of a lawsuit being filed by New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, along with 14 other states, claiming that the biotech firm created a kickback scheme to boost drug sales. According to Cuomo, the lawsuit, filed today in federal court, claims that Amgen, International Nephrology Network (INN), a specialty group purchasing organization, and ASD Healthcare, a wholesaler offered kickbacks to medical providers who increased sales of anemia drug Aranesp. Other states in the lawsuit are California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.