Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has settled a massive civil lawsuit and admitted to paying hundreds of thousands of dollars and kickbacks in the form of honoraria payments, meals, and travel expenses to healthcare practitioners who spoke at or attended Gilead speaker events to induce them to prescribe its HIV drugs.
Under the settlement approved last week, Gilead has agreed to pay a total of $202m, of which $176 927 889.28 will be paid to the US and the remainder will be paid to various states. As part of the settlement, Gilead also made extensive factual admissions regarding its conduct.
The settlement announced by US Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan resolved charges that Gilead violated the federal False Claims Act by defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and other programmes into paying for drugs prescribed by doctors who spoke at and attended Gilead’s promotional speaker programmes.
Clayton said: “For years, the company unlawfully sought to increase sales of its HIV drugs by using its speaker programmes to funnel kickbacks to doctors. It spent tens of millions of dollars on these programmes, including more than $20m in speaking fees and millions more on exorbitant meals, alcohol and travel, in efforts to induce doctors to prescribe its HIV drugs and drive up sales.”
Investigators said that from 2011 to 2017, Gilead provided more than $23.7m of speaker honoraria, paid for lavish meals at high-end restaurants, and covered travel costs, including to “desirable” locations like Hawaii and New Orleans, for hundreds of healthcare providers.
According to settlement papers, some kickback recipients repeatedly attended programmes on the same topic, including a group of 10 Manhattan doctors who spoke at or attended together approximately 384 dinners.
The HIV drugs included Biktarvy, Complera, Descovy, Genvoya, Odefsey and Stribild, reports Reuters.
“With this settlement, Gilead has taken responsibility for its conduct,” Clayton said in a statement. “The message is clear, companies that illegally drain taxpayer dollars from federal healthcare programmes will be held accountable.”
The events were held from January 2011 to November 2017.
In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act. Gilead said it settled to avoid the cost and distraction of potential litigation. The California-based company had set aside money for the settlement in last year’s fourth quarter.
The False Claims Act lets whistleblowers sue on behalf of governments and share in recoveries.
The Gilead case was originally filed in 2016 by Paul Bellman, a doctor who treats patients diagnosed with HIV/Aids.
Gilead’s HIV drug sales totalled $19.61bn in 2024, up 8% from a year earlier.
Reuters article – Gilead Sciences to pay $202 million in US settlement over HIV drug kickbacks
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