Former Novartis sales reps from around the U.S. are expected to testify they were “essentially buying” prescriptions in exchange for providing doctors with paid speaking engagements, fancy meals, and alcohol in a closely watched lawsuit that is being pressed by the federal government.
And both doctors and sales reps are expected to testify that payments were made for speaking engagements that never took place, and that many of these events had little to no educational content, but were really just schmoozefests, according to a court filing on Monday by federal prosecutors.
The disclosure comes in a case that began in 2011, when a former Novartis sales rep named Oswald Bilotta filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging the company paid kickbacks to boost prescriptions and caused federal health care programs to pay for drugs based on false claims. The Department of Justice joined the lawsuit five years ago.
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