SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Boston Scientific Corp., Medtronic Inc., and five other companies promoted surgical devices for unapproved uses, cheating the federal Medicare program, a whistle-blower said in lawsuits unsealed in Houston.
Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific and its Guidant Corp. unit “initiated a coordinated nationwide sales campaign (including the use of illegal kickbacks and other improper means) to entice physicians and hospitals to use their products for off-label purposes,’’ a former saleswoman identified as Jane Doe said in a complaint made public Monday.....
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Related: A Scientific Way of Looting
NEW YORK - Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. have agreed to pay $5.4 million to 35 states to settle allegations that they delayed releasing negative findings from a study of their cholesterol fighter Vytorin, the drug makers said yesterday.
The 35 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia had alleged that the drug makers, which sell Vytorin and a related medicine called Zetia in a joint venture, delayed public notice for 20 months about unfavorable data from their so-called Enhance study....
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