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Various civil cases had accused the pharmaceutical titan of overcharging government programs

PHILADELPHIA
Drug giant Merck & Co. last week said it will pay more than $650 million to settle claims that it overcharged U.S. government healthcare programs for prescription drugs.

UPI reports that Merck was accused in a whistle-blower lawsuit of providing discounts to hospitals and doctors that bought large lots of drugs, but did not offer the same deal to patients treated through Medicare and other government healthcare programs, which violates U.S. law.

Merck also was accused of offering kickbacks to some medical professionals in order to boost sales, according to a report from MarketWatch.

The settlement, which was made without Merck admitting any wrongdoing, resolves several civil probes by federal authorities and state attorneys general, according to the Financial Times.

One of the cases stemmed from allegations made by a former Merck sales representative who charged that Merck violated the law in marketing the cholesterol drug Zocor and the painkiller Vioxx, a pain drug later pulled from the market after it was linked to heart disease risks, reports the Dow Jones News Service.

Sources: UPI, Feb. 8 — Dow Jones News Service, Feb. 8 — MarketWatch, Feb. 7 — Financial Times, Feb. 7.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 13, 2007 — Related Newsline story, July 2, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 7, 2006 — Related Newsline story, July 3, 2006 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 12, 2005.