Drugs

Drug Industry Settlements Remain Low

The number and size of federal and state settlements against the pharmaceutical industry remained low in 2016 and 2017, with federal criminal penalties nearly disappearing, according to an analysis published by Public Citizen. The report updates data that the advocacy group previously released in 2016 on criminal and civil settlements reached between the federal and state governments and drug manufacturers.

“The report’s most striking finding is that federal criminal penalties against pharmaceutical companies have dropped precipitously since 2013,” the advocacy group says in a media statement. “In 2016-2017, federal criminal penalties totaled just $317 million from four settlements. This represents a nearly 90% plunge in financial penalties compared with 2012-2013. The report also reveals that among all federal penalties, both civil and criminal, the number of settlements fluctuated, but the size of the penalties has dropped steeply since 2013. Because of this, it is concerning that companies now are virtually guaranteed to escape severe punishment despite the serious charges that underpin these settlements.”

Public Citizen says the continued low levels of financial penalties in 2016-2017 were primarily due to a continued decrease in financial penalties, almost all federal, from settlements involving unlawful promotion of prescription drugs. It says such penalties have declined by 94% since their peak in 2012-2013. Another striking finding, it says, is an 88% drop in criminal penalties.

Much larger penalties and successful prosecutions of company executives that oversee systemic fraud, including jail sentences if appropriate, are necessary to deter future unlawful behavior, the report says. It adds that without such penalties and prosecutions, the illegal but profitable activities will continue to be part of companies’ business model.

“Not only must the government hold accountable individual executives, but it must impose meaningful penalties on their companies,” says Public Citizen Health Research Group director Michael Carome. “Such efforts would go a long way toward eliminating fraud as a business model within the pharmaceutical industry, a model where crime does in fact pay.”

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

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