Drug Bust

It's a banner week for big drugmakers accused of breaking the law to juice sales of blockbuster products.

Biotech giant Amgen Inc. is the latest company accused of wrongdoing. New York and 14 other states are suing the company, accusing it of paying kickbacks to doctors so they'd prescribe anemia drug Aranesp.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who is leading the case, also accuses Amgen of bribing doctors to bill Medicaid for free samples of the drug. Amgen says it believes the suit has no merit.

Meanwhile, the U.S. settlement payouts keep mounting for major pharmaceutical companies accused of improperly marketing their products.

AstraZeneca Plc is the latest to come to terms with U.S. prosecutors, setting aside $520 million to settle accusations. The company says it reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia to resolve investigations related to sales and marketing practices for the antipsychotic drug Seroquel.

At issue for the feds is how drugmakers promote their products for unapproved uses. London-based AstraZeneca joins Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. in striking deals with the government over their practices. There aren't more details, but expect the feds to trumpet the settlement later, much like they did with the bigger deals with Pfizer and Lilly.

Like AstraZeneca, Lilly is pushing for expanded use of its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa. Both companies are seeking U.S. approval to sell the psychiatric medicines to children. The Lilly settlement was a record $1.4 billion in January. That record didn't stand very long because Pfizer beat the record, announcing a $2.3 billion settlement in September over its so-called off-label promotion of Bextra, an anti-inflamatory drug pulled from the market because of safety concerns.

When the feds announced the deal for Pfizer, they said they were trying to set an example. Tsk tsk.