NY-AG v. Reckitt

Reckitt Benckiser Group allegedly improperly marketed and promoted the drug Suboxone, resulting in improper expenditure of state Medicaid funds. Reckitt allegedly promoted the sale and use of Suboxone to physicians who were writing prescriptions to patients without any counseling or psychosocial support. Reckitt allegedly promoted the sale or use of Suboxone Sublingual Film based on false and misleading claims that Suboxone Sublingual Film was less subject to diversion and abuse than other buprenorphine products and that Suboxone Sublingual Film was less susceptible to accidental pediatric exposure than Suboxone Sublingual Tablets. Reckitt allegedly submitted a petition to the Food and Drug Administration on September 25, 2012, fraudulently claiming that it had discontinued manufacturing and selling Suboxone Sublingual Tablet “due to safety concerns” about the tablet formulation of the drug. Reckitt allegedly took other steps to fraudulently delay the entry of generic competition for various forms of Suboxone in order to improperly control pricing of Suboxone, including pricing to federal healthcare programs.

Summary generated from official New York Attorney General press release