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Apr-24-2008Drug Executive Is Indicted on Secret Deal(topic overview)
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SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - A former Bristol-Myers Squibbs Co. executive has been indicted for lying to the federal government about a patent deal involving the blood-thinning drug Plavix, the Department of Justice said late Wednesday. The DOJ alleges that Andrew Bodnar, formerly senior vice president at the New York-based drug company, in 2006 on behalf of his company told Apotex Inc. that Bristol Myers-Squibbs would not launch a generic version of Plavix if Apotex agreed to a settlement that would prevent Apotex from launching its Plavix generic until 2011. [1] Former Bristol-Myers Squibb Exec Charged with Lying about Plavix 22 Corporate Crime Reporter 17, April 23, 2008 Andrew Bodnar, a former senior vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb, was indicted today for his role in lying to the federal government about a patent deal involving the popular blood-thinning drug, Plavix, used by heart attack, stroke and other patients.[2] The Department of Justice indicted Andrew Bodnar, former senior vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., for allegedly lying to the federal government about a patent deal for.[3]
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - A former vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) was indicted for lying to the federal government about a patent deal involving Plavix, a blood-thinning drug, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.[4] WASHINGTON (AFP) — A former senior vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) has been indicted for lying about a patent deal involving the blood-thinning drug Plavix, justice officials said Wednesday.[5]
A former Bristol-Myers Squibb executive was indicted yesterday for allegedly lying to federal officials about a secret deal to delay a competitor from launching a lower-cost generic version of the best-selling blood thinner Plavix. ''The federal grand jury indictment alleges Andrew Bodnar, 60, a former Bristol-Myers senior vice president, knowingly and willfully made a false statement to the Federal Trade Commission about his dealings to maintain his companys monopoly for the blockbuster medication.[6] According to the indictment (which you can read by clicking on the icon at right), Andrew Bodnar told regulators that Bristol hadn't promised not to compete against Apotex when the company brought out a generic version of the blood thinner. When Bristol agreed to pay the $1 million fine, the company said Bodnar, a senior vice president at the time, had cut such a deal and lied about it to the Federal Trade Commission, the WSJ reported last year. The indictment repeats those allegations. Bodnar, who has resigned from Bristol, told the WSJ this afternoon that he wasn't aware of the indictment and had no further comment.[7] The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., says Bodnar lied to the Federal Trade Commission about a deal between Bristol-Myers Squibb and partner Sanofi-Aventis to keep a rival firm from launching of a generic version of Plavix. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 (156,838) fine. Bristol-Myers and Sanofi had agreed in 2006 to pay Canadian drugmaker Apotex at least $40 million (25 million) to keep its version of Plavix off the market until 2011, when the patent expires.[8] Last year, Bristol-Myers agreed to plead guilty and pay a $1 million criminal fine for misleading the government about the Plavix patent deal. Bodnar was accused of lying to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about his 2006 statements to drugmaker Apotex Inc, according to the one-count indictment filed in federal court in Washington.[4] Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to pay a $1 million fine and plead guilty to lying to a government agency last year to settle a criminal antitrust investigation into a deal it struck with Canada's Apotex Inc. over Bristol's best-selling drug.[9]
On June 11, 2007, Bristol-Myers Squibb (nyse: BMY - news - people ) agreed to plead guilty and pay a $1 million criminal fine for misleading the government about the Plavix patent deal.[1]
A botched 2006 deal to keep generic Plavix off the market already led Bristol-Myers Squibb to oust its CEO, plead guilty to a federal charge and pay a $1 million fine.[7]
Last June, Bristol-Myers pleaded guilty and paid a $1 million criminal fine for misleading the government about the Plavix deal that was the subject of yesterdays indictment.[6] Bristol-Myers, based in New York, pleaded guilty last year and was fined $1 million for misleading the government about the Plavix deal.[10]
The drugmaker has already pleaded guilty and paid a $1 million (630,000) fine for misleading the government about the Plavix deal.[8]
In June 2007 Bristol-Myers pleaded guilty and paid a one million dollar criminal fine for misleading the government about the Plavix patent deal.[5]
Bristol-Myers agreed to the deal to settle litigation between the two pharmaceutical firms. At the time, Bristol-Myers was subject to a separate consent decree, for an unrelated matter, requiring it to submit any proposed patent settlements for review and advisory approval by the FTC. The agency had warned the company that if it agreed with Apotex not to market its own generic version of Plavix then the FTC would not approve a settlement of the Plavix litigation.[10] At the time, Bristol-Myers was subject to a consent decree, for unrelated conduct, with the FTC that required the company to submit any proposed patent settlements to the FTC for review. Bodnar was accused of telling Apotex that Bristol-Myers would not launch a generic version of Plavix if Apotex agreed to settle litigation and delay launching its Plavix generic until 2011, the Justice Department said.[4] The FTC warned Bristol-Myers Squibb that if it agreed with Apotex not to launch BMS's own generic version of Plavix meaning that BMS would not compete against Apotex for generic sales then the FTC would not approve a settlement of the Plavix litigation. Federal officials alleged that at a meeting in 2006, Bodnar, on behalf of BMS, made representations to Apotex to reassure it that BMS would not launch a generic version of Plavix if Apotex agreed to a settlement which would prevent Apotex from launching its Plavix generic until 2011. Federal officials alleged that Bodnar knowingly and willfully made a false statement to the FTC about the existence of his representations to Apotex.[2]
Andrew Bodnar faces up to five years in prison and a fine of more than 250,000 dollars if found guilty of lying to federal authorities. In the indictment, the Department of Justice alleges that at a 2006 meeting, Bodnar reassured Canadian group Apotex Inc. that BMS "would not launch a generic version of Plavix if Apotex agreed to a settlement which would prevent Apotex from launching its Plavix generic until 2011."[5]
The one-count indictment issued by a grand jury in Washington charges Andrew Bodnar, a former senior vice president at Bristol-Myers, with violating the Federal False Statements Act, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 upon conviction.[10] Bodnar is charged with one violation of the Federal False Statements Act, which carries a maximum sentence of five years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The indictment is the latest chapter in a series of legal woes that have plagued Bristol-Myers, hurt its finances and led to the departure of top executives, including former chief executive Peter Dolan in late 2006.[6]
At the time, BMS "was subject to a separate consent decree, for unrelated conduct, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)" that required the company "to submit any proposed patent settlements for review and advisory approval by the FTC," the Department of Justice said. The indictment charges that Bodnar "knowingly and willfully made a false statement to the FTC about the existence of his representations to Apotex," the statement read.[5] Now antitrust prosecutors are charging the companys former senior vice president, Andrew Bodnar, with one count of making a false statement, the Department of Justice said.[8]
Prosecutors said Wednesday that Bodnar knowingly made false statements about Bristols proposed settlement with Apotex to FTC agents.[8]
In 2006, the companies reached a tentative settlement under which Bristol-Myers would pay Apotex $40 million not to launch a generic version of Plavix until 2011, when the patent expired.[6] Bristol-Myers Squibb and another company, Apotex Inc., were engaged in litigation over the validity of the patent for Plavix and were negotiating a settlement of that litigation.[2] According to the one-count indictment filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Washington, Bristol-Myers and Apotex, a Canadian drugmaker, were engaged in litigation over the validity of the patent for Plavix.[6]
Bodnar is accused of lying to Federal Trade Commission officials about the nature of Bristol-Myers' agreement with another drug company, Apotex, in 2006 not to pursue a generic blood-thinning drug similar to Plavix.[10] The government has started challenging the practice as illegal and anticompetitive. In February, federal regulators sued Frazer, Penn. -based drug firm Cephalon for paying generic firms $200 million (125.47 million) to delay launching cheaper versions of its sleep disorder drug Provigil. Cephalon defended the agreements, saying they helped end costly and protracted patent infringement litigation.[8] The FTC has been looking pretty closely lately at deals drug makers cut to try to delay generic competition. Earlier this year, the FTC filed a lawsuit against Cephalon, alleging that the company paid $200 million to push back competition for its drug Provigil.[7]
The alleged incident involving Andrew Bodnar occurred two years ago in connection with the possible introduction of a generic drug that would compete with Plavix, the government said in a statement.[4] Plavix was the second best-selling drug in the world last year with revenue of $7.3 billion (4.58 billion), according to health care research firm IMS Health.[8]
WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- An ex-Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. executive was indicted Wednesday for allegedly lying to the U.S. government about a deal involving Plavix, prosecutors said. [10] Today, in a distant aftershock, a former Bristol SVP was indicted for allegedly misleading the government about the deal.[7]
A spokeswoman for New York-based Bristol declined to comment. Drugmakers often use lucrative settlement payments to keep rivals from launching low-cost generic versions of their drugs. [8] At the time, Bristol was subject to a binding agreement, for unrelated conduct, which required it to submit any proposed patent settlements to FTC for review.[8]
The agreement was designed to settle Apotexs challenge to the patents on Plavix, but the deal soured when state attorneys general refused to sign off.[8]
Bristol-Myers Squibbs participates in the sale and marketing of Plavix in the U.S. through the Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, the department said.[1] Lying to the federal government is a serious felony that obstructs the law enforcement process, said Thomas Barnett, assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Bodnar, reached at his home in Princeton, had no comment.[6] "Lying to the federal government is a serious felony that obstructs the law enforcement process," said Antitrust Division chief Thomas O. Barnett. "The Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute such illegal activity."[2]
In a statement today, the Assistant AG in charge of the DOJ's antitrust division said that "lying to the federal government is a serious felony that obstructs the law enforcement process."[7]
SOURCES
1. Former Bristol-Myers Squibbs executive indicted for lying about drug: DOJ - Forbes.com
2. plavix042308
3. Free Preview - WSJ.com
4. UPDATE 1-Ex-exec at Bristol-Myers indicted for lying | Industries | Healthcare | Reuters
5. AFP: Ex-Bristol-Myers Squibb official indicted for lying to feds
6. Former Bristol exec indicted - New Jersey Local & Small Business News ' Economics & Finance News Articles - NJ.com
7. Health Blog : Former Bristol-Myers Exec Indicted, Accused of Lying to Feds
8. Former Bristol-Myers Squibb executive indicted in antitrust probe - International Herald Tribune
9. Free Preview - WSJ.com
10. Ex-Bristol-Myers executive indicted - UPI.com
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