North Carolina will get nearly $1.2 million from a $612 million settlement with pharmaceutical giant Amgen over fraudulent Medicaid claims, kickbacks and other misrepresentations.
As part of the settlement with federal prosecutors, the California drug company pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of promoting an anemia drug for higher doses than it was approved.
The federal settlement ended an eight-year investigation based on 10 whistleblower cases filed in New York, Massachusetts and Washington state.
North Carolina's portion of the settlement was reached by the N.C. Attorney General's Medicaid Investigations Division and the N.C. Division of Medical Assistance.
Amgen was accused of paying cash, rebates and junkets to doctors and clinics that used its drugs. The company was also accused of reporting false drug prices and recommending drugs for unapproved uses.
North Carolina will receive $1.18 million in the settlement. The money will go to Medicaid efforts in the state as well as to public schools, said AG spokeswoman Noelle Talley.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or