Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces Settlement with Global Pharmaceutical Company

Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that Kentucky will participate in a $72.5 million settlement with global pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Novartis is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and conducts business in more than 140 countries worldwide.

The settlement resolves claims brought by the federal government, Kentucky and other participating states that Novartis knowingly promoted the sale and use of the cystic fibrosis drug, tobramycin (marketed under the trade name TOBI®), for uses that had not been approved by the United States Food & Drug Administration - including use of the drug for diseases other than cystic fibrosis and use for children under the age of six suffering from cystic fibrosis.

As a result of the settlement, the Kentucky Medicaid program will receive $471,939.33, which represents double the amount that Kentucky Medicaid expended for prescriptions written as a result the company's off- label marketing. After reimbursing the federal government for its contribution, the Kentucky Medicaid program will be retain $136,199.05 of the settlement proceeds.

"Pharmaceutical companies are on notice that Kentucky and the Office of the Attorney General will not tolerate fraud, waste and abuse in our Medicaid program," General Conway said. "We've worked diligently to recover millions of dollars for taxpayers from big drug companies that are trying to game the system."

Since Attorney General Conway took office in January 2008, his Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control has recovered or been awarded more than $100 million dollars for the state and federal Medicaid programs. These cases range from lawsuits and settlements against pharmaceutical companies to cases against individual providers.

The Attorney General's Tip Line for reporting allegations of Medicaid fraud is 877-228-7384.