A whistleblower lawsuit accusing Johnson & Johnson of defrauding government healthcare programs by improperly reporting drug-pricing information has recently been unsealed, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Former J&J employee Scott Bartz originally filed the suit in 2005 in federal court in Philadelphia. It was unsealed in December and Omnicare, a pharmacy-service provider and another defendant in the case, disclosed the suit in a regulatory filing last Thursday.
In an amended version of Mr. Bartz’s lawsuit, filed in 2007, he alleged that J&J concealed from Medicaid discounts on drugs that were offered to other purchasers. The suit also alleges that the pharmaceutical company retaliated against Mr. Bartz for voicing his concerns, including a demotion before terminating his employment in 2007.
A J&J spokeswoman said the company will defend the case in court. Omnicare, which allegedly helped J&J in concealing the discounts, said in its regulatory filing the allegations are without merit and it intends to defend itself. A spokesperson from McKesson Corporation, which also named as a defendant for allegedly assisting J&J, declined to comment, according to the report.
The Justice Department has declined to intervene in the case so far, according to the report.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on Johnson & Johnson.
Read more about pharmaceutical fraud:
– 5 Pharmaceutical Drugmakers Pay North Carolina $25M for Off-Label Marketing, Kickbacks
– Louisiana Attorney General Sues GlaxoSmithKline for Wrongfully Marketing Diabetes Medication
– DOJ Intervenes in Suits Against Illinois’ Abbott Laboratories For Off-Label Drug Marketing
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