Galena Biopharma will pay more than $7.55 million to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe its fentanyl-based drug Abstral. The allegations rose from a whistleblower suit filed under the False Claims Act. Federal officials alleged that Galena Biopharma paid multiple types of kickbacks to induce doctors to prescribe Abstral, including providing more than 85 free meals to doctors and staff from a single, high-prescribing practice, paying doctors $5,000 honoraria, and speakers $6,000, plus expenses, to attend an “advisory board” that was partly planned, and was attended by, Galena sales team members; and paying approximately $92,000 to a physician-owned pharmacy under a performance-based rebate agreement to induce the owners to prescribe Abstral.
— source corporatecrimereporter.com 2017-09-10