Wyeth Accused of Withholding State Medicaid Rebates

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have again accused drug maker Wyeth of refusing to pay millions of dollars in rebates owed to state Medicaid programs for buying some of the company’s drugs.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, the states say one of the world’s largest drug companies failed to give state healthcare programs the same discounts on its Protonix stomach acid inhibitor drugs as it offered to private purchasers and hospitals. That is a violation of federal law.

The charges in the suit filed today were first exposed as part of a whistleblower action and reported on www.attorneyatlaw.com last month.

“The Medicaid program requires pharmaceutical companies to provide the same discounts and rebates to the state Medicaid program as they do to their large commercial customers,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, according to a Reuters report.

A Wyeth spokesman defended the company’s policy in pricing for Protonix drugs bought by state Medicaid programs.

“The company continues to believe that its pricing calculations were correct and intends to defend itself vigorously in these actions,” said spokesman Doug Petkus.

No related posts.