Latebreakers: Pfizer to pay nearly $20 million in PBM kickback scheme

The Pharmacia and Upjohn subsidiary of Pfizer wasordered to pay $19.68 million after pleading guilty tooffering kickbacks to a PBM in the expectation ofobtaining improved formulary status for Pharmaciadrug products. Pharmacia will also be excluded permanentlyfrom participation in all federal healthcareprograms. At the plea hearing, the prosecutor arguedthat Pharmacia offered more than $12 million in inflatedpayments to a subsidiary of a PBM. The case wasinvestigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for theDistrict of Massachusetts, HHS, and FBI.