Pfizer Settles for $60M Over Kickbacks Linked to Lady Gaga’s Migraine Drug.
Pfizer will pay nearly $60 million to settle allegations that Biohaven, a company it acquired, paid kickbacks to healthcare professionals to encourage them to prescribe its migraine drug Nurtec ODT, defrauding Medicare and other federal health programmes.
The Justice Department announced on Friday that Biohaven had provided improper remuneration, including speaker fees and meals at high-end restaurants, to healthcare professionals to induce them to prescribe Nurtec ODT more frequently. This scheme occurred between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2022, before Pfizer acquired Biohaven in October 2022.
Prosecutors stated that certain doctors attended multiple speaker programs on the same topic despite receiving no educational benefit, and some Biohaven events were attended by individuals with no need to be there, such as the speakers’ spouses, family members, friends, or colleagues from their own medical practice. Pfizer ceased the Nurtec speaker programs after paying $11.5 billion to acquire Biohaven.
"Patients deserve to know that their doctor is prescribing medications based on their doctor’s medical judgment, and not as a result of financial incentives from pharmaceutical companies," said U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York. "This settlement reflects our commitment to hold those who violate the laws accountable, regardless of their status or prestige." Pfizer did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
"We are pleased to put this legacy matter behind us, so that we can continue to focus on the needs of patients," Pfizer said in a statement.
Nurtec ODT (Rimegepant) was approved for the acute treatment of migraines in February 2020, and its approval was extended in June 2021 to include the prevention of episodic migraines. The drug gained further attention in 2023 when singer Lady Gaga promoted it, sharing her personal experience with migraines and stating she wished she had discovered the drug sooner.
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in August 2021 by Patricia Frattasio, a former Biohaven neuroscience sales specialist, in a Rochester, New York federal court. Frattasio will receive approximately $8.4 million from the settlement. The settlement also includes $41.8 million for the federal government and $9.5 million for state Medicaid programs.
The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the government and receive a share of the recovery.
