Oswald Bilotta blew the whistle on Novartis’ alleged doctor kickback scheme while working as a sales rep at the Swiss drugmaker, leading to U.S. government intervention in a lawsuit in 2013.
Now, as Novartis has agreed to resolve the case by paying a $678 million settlement, Bilotta stands to get $109.4 million, plus additional interest, for his role as the whistleblower, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
The award represents a handsome 18.5% of the amount the government is getting from the Novartis settlement, net of $38.4 million in forfeiture and $48.2 million for state Medicaid claims.
According to the complaint, Novartis set up sham speaker programs as venues for paying physicians kickbacks to boost scripts of its drugs Lotrel, Valturna, Starlix, Tekturna, Tekamlo, Diovan and Exforge. These events often involved lavish meals, fishing trips and other entertainment, according to the suit.
Read the source article at Pharma News
