Thursday, April 28, 2016
COLUMBUS (AP) — The state attorney general says Ohio’s Medicaid program will get nearly $25 million from drugmaker Pfizer Inc.’s payments to resolve allegations that one of its companies didn’t give Medicaid the same discounts it provided to private buyers of a heartburn treatment.
The deal finalized Wednesday centers on Wyeth’s practices related to rebates on Protonix sales between 2001 and 2006. Pfizer acquired Wyeth in 2009.
Federal prosecutors say Wyeth gave thousands of hospitals deep discounts on two versions of Protonix, but failed to report those prices to the government as required by law so Medicaid can receive the same discounts.
New York-based Pfizer Inc. agreed to a settlement of nearly $785 million. A Pfizer statement says it’s pleased to have finalized the agreement and now wants to focus on patients’ needs.