Drugs

Pharma Marketer Sentenced in Compounding Scheme

Pharmaceutical marketer Quintan Cockerell (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) was sentenced 7/12 to two years and five months in prison and ordered to pay over $59 million in restitution for conspiring to defraud the U.S., receiving illegal kickbacks in exchange for compounded medications prescription referrals, and money laundering.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, Cockerell worked with others to create and market expensive compounded medications that were not medically indicated. He and others used preloaded prescription pads that identified the high-billing formulations for doctors to easily select. “Cockerell, along with his co-conspirators at the compounding pharmacy that received the fraudulent prescriptions, implemented ‘standing orders’ that enabled the pharmacy to swap out ingredients in the medications originally prescribed by doctors to maximize insurance reimbursements,” the government contends. Cockerell and others also took doctors on expensive trips to Las Vegas, Mexico, and the Grand Caymans, among other places.

In an effort to conceal the illegal kickbacks Cockerell received, the unnamed pharmacy paid Cockerell’s wife at the time as a sham employee. “Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Cockerell’s wife did not work at the pharmacy, but that Cockerell communicated with the pharmacy using her email address and received checks for his kickbacks in her name,” the Justice Department says.

In October, a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted Cockerell of the charges.

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome