U.S. Files Suit Against Omnicare For Accepting Kickbacks From Abbott Labs

(RTTNews) - The United States has filed a civil False Claims Act complaint against Omnicare Inc. (OCR) alleging that it solicited and received millions of dollars in kickbacks from pharmaceutical manufacturer Abbott Laboratories (ABT), the Justice Department announced.

In its complaint, the United States alleges that Omnicare solicited and received kickbacks from Abbott in exchange for purchasing and recommending the prescription drug Depakote for controlling behavioral disturbances exhibited by dementia patients residing in nursing homes serviced by Omnicare.

According to the complaint, Omnicare's pharmacists reviewed nursing home patients' charts at least monthly and made recommendations to physicians on what drugs should be prescribed for those patients. The government alleged that Omnicare touted its influence over physicians in nursing homes in order to secure kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies such as Abbott.

"Elderly nursing home residents suffering from dementia are among our nation's most vulnerable patient populations, and they depend on the independent judgment of healthcare professionals for their daily care," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department's Civil Division. "Kickbacks to consulting pharmacists compromise their independence and undermine their role in protecting nursing home residents from the use of unnecessary drugs."

The United States alleges that Omnicare disguised the kickbacks it received from Abbott in a variety of ways. Abbott allegedly made payments to Omnicare described as "grants" and "educational funding," even though their true purpose was to induce Omnicare to recommend Depakote.

The complaint also alleged that Omnicare entered into agreements with Abbott by which Omnicare was entitled to increasing levels of rebates from Abbott based on the number of nursing home residents serviced and the amount of Depakote prescribed per resident.

The complaint alleged that Abbott funded Omnicare management meetings on Amelia Island, Florida, offered tickets to sporting events to Omnicare management, and made other payments to local Omnicare pharmacies.

In May 2012, the United States, numerous individual states, and Abbott entered into a $1.5 billion global civil and criminal resolution that, among other things, resolved Abbott's civil liability under the False Claims Act for paying kickbacks to nursing home pharmacies.