United States ex rel. Solis v. Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This lawsuit was originally filed under seal on November 4, 2009, pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 , et seq. (“FCA”), against Defendants, who are pharmaceutical companies, include Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Schering-Plough Corp., and Merck and Co. (“Defendants” unless otherwise indicated). The so-called “Relator” Plaintiff, Frank Solis, a former sales employee who at various points worked for all three Defendants (“Relator” or “Plaintiff’) claims that the companies fraudulently marketed and/or promoted the use of two drugs, Integrilin and Avelox, for so called “off label” uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. 1 In so doing, according to Relator, Defendants “caused” physicians to improperly prescribe the drugs and, consequently, to submit false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE (United States Military Healthcare) for federal reimbursement, which the government allegedly paid without knowing the claims were ineligible. Following a three-year investigation, the United States and all twenty-four states named in the initial complaint chose not to intervene, and Relator’s Complaint…