From the Daily Dog:
The state and city of New York filed suit this week against Merck, claiming the drugmaker concealed the risks of the withdrawn arthritis treatment Vioxx. The lawsuit seeks damages, penalties and restitution for “tens of millions of taxpayer dollars wrongfully spent on Vioxx prescriptions,” the office of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a statement… “Merck’s irresponsible and duplicitous conduct endangered the health of New Yorkers and wasted our tax dollars,” Cuomo said…
The Attorney General’s office said this is the first case to be brought under New York’s recently-enacted False Claims Act, which allows the state to seek damages for the amount spent in Medicaid and EPIC healthcare programs to pay for drugs prescribed under false pretenses … Between 1999 and 2004 Medicaid and EPIC spent over $100 million on Vioxx prescriptions in New York State, the Attorney General’s office said, referring to the New York State Medical Assistance Program and the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage plan.
Related Posts
-
Vioxx lesson: When you’re bad, be VERY bad
-
Merck and insurance companies at cross-purposes over Gardasil
- The Fosamax mistrial, and other options in osteoporosis medication
-
Merck and Schering-Plough: partners in slime
-
Will Big Pharma perves sneak a peek at “Sicko”?
-
Will Big Pharma start hiring Girl Scouts as drug reps?
Subscribe in a reader