Bayer agrees to pay $40M to settle kickback, safety claims sparked by whistleblower
More than a decade after its first day in court, Bayer is finally settling two Department of Justice whistleblower cases.
The federal agency announced Friday that Bayer agreed to pay a $40 million fine to resolve “alleged violations of the False Claims Act in connection with the drugs Trasylol, Avelox and Baycol.”
The settlement was sparked by two whistleblower lawsuits, both filed by ex-Bayer marketing employee Laurie Simpson in a saga going back close to 15 years. The former employee filed a case in 2008 against Bayer, which was later transferred to the district court in Minnesota. In that case, the employee alleged that the pharma’s statin drug, Baycol, caused risks of rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening complication of certain drugs that occurs when muscles break down into the blood.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.