Jay Clayton, serving as the interim U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, recently addressed the settlement of claims against Gilead Sciences, a prominent biopharmaceutical company. As part of this settlement, the company has agreed to pay a total of $202 million. This will resolve claims that it engaged in illegal marketing tactics to sell its HIV treatments.
Gilead, for instance, is currently facing lawsuits for secretly abusing the use of speaker programs. These programs are allegedly used to channel illegal kickbacks to physicians in exchange for prescribing Gilead’s treatments. These practices have raised alarming questions about the honesty of pharmaceutical marketing. In doing so, they ask deep questions about how financial incentives affect our medical decision making.
Clayton stated, “For years, Gilead unlawfully sought to increase sales of its HIV drugs, by using its speaker programs to funnel kickbacks to doctors.” That bold type in the statement really emphasizes how serious these charges are, and what this means for healthcare providers working to End the HIV Epidemic.
These advertising campaigns helped hide the fact that Gilead had spent tens of millions of dollars on these programs. According to Clayton, “Gilead spent tens of millions of dollars on these programs, including over $20 million in speaking fees and millions more in exorbitant meals, alcohol and travel, all in an effort to induce doctors to prescribe Gilead’s HIV drugs and drive up sales.” These expenditures are ethically troubling given the closeness created between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers.
Today’s settlement reaffirms the U.S. government’s commitment to combating healthcare fraud. Most importantly, it guarantees that any medical decision is based on what would do most for the patient, not what would make the most money. This case illustrates the absolute necessity of transparency when it comes to sales tactics from big pharma.