A jury has ordered Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to pay $61M in a whistleblower case that accused the drugmaker of making false claims about pricing under Medicaid’s drug pricing program, Bloomberg reported.
The suit was filed in 2014 by whistleblower Ronald J. Streck who alleged Lilly (LLY) began retroactive price increases on its drugs, as well as neglected to pay rebates on more expensive drug prices.
A news release from Walden Macht & Haran, the firm representing Streck, said that total judgment will be $183M since damages are trebled under the False Claims Act.
A Lilly (LLY) spokesperson told the news service that the company will seek to vacate the verdict and have judgment in its favor.
Streck has filed similar False Claims Act suits against other drugmakers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Astellas (OTCPK:ALPMF) which have led to settlements. The Bristol (BMY) case was resolved in 2021 with a $75M settlement with the Department of Justice.
Source: Eli Lilly ordered to pay $183M in whistleblower Medicaid fraud case – Bloomberg / Seeking Alpha