Attorney General Phil Weiser secures settlement from Pfizer over illegal migraine drug kickbacks

Jan. 31, 2025 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today that Colorado has joined with the federal government and 38 other states and territories in settling allegations (PDF download) of illegal kickbacks against Biohaven Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical company Pfizer. As part of the settlement, Pfizer has agreed to pay over $59 million, including a payment of $156,253 to Colorado in restitution and other recoveries.

A coordinated state and federal investigation found that, from March 2020 through September 2022, Biohaven paid kickbacks to health care providers in the form of cash, lavish meals, and speaker payments to get them to prescribe Biohaven’s product, Nurtec, a prescription drug used to treat migraine headaches.

“Medicaid is a critical lifeline for many Coloradans, especially for people who earn low incomes, and that is who is harmed most by misuse and abuse of Medicaid dollars,” said Weiser. “I am committed to holding accountable anyone trying to game the system, including multibillion dollar corporations like Pfizer.”

The investigation found Biohaven paid kickbacks to providers to present at speaker programs with the goal of getting doctors to prescribe Nurtec for Medicaid and other federal healthcare beneficiaries, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a- 7b(b). Biohaven paid some providers tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases more than $100,000, for these programs.

In numerous instances, people who had no educational need to attend the programs, such as the speaker’s family members joined providers in benefiting from the kickbacks. In other instances, providers who attended multiple programs on the same topic, and received expensive meals and drinks paid for by Biohaven, had no educational reason to participate.

The case against Biohaven was initiated by a whistleblower, Patricia Frattasio, a former employee of Biohaven, who will receive a portion of the agreement.

The case is United States et al. ex rel. Frattasio v. Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Holding Company Ltd., Case No. 6:21-CV-06539 and was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

The Colorado Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $3,858,544.00 for Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,286,181.00 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of Colorado.

Anyone who suspects Medicaid fraud, or any type of fraud or scam, is encouraged to file a complaint with the attorney general’s office at StopFraudColorado.gov.

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