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U.S. Attorney charges pharma rep in kickbacks

Compliance Monitor, December 22, 2004

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The U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts December 15 charged a pharmaceutical sales representative with offering physicians all-expenses paid trips to France in exchange for prescribing his company's AIDS drug.

Adam Stupak, 40, of Hewlit, NY, was named in a filing by the U.S. Department of Justice for his alleged role in Rockland, MA-based Serono, Inc.'s plan to increase sluggish sales of Serostim (approved by the FDA to fight AIDS wasting) that included providing kickbacks to three New York City physicians.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Serostim's six regional sales directors allegedly were instructed by upper management to offer the trips to the third International Conference on Nutrition and HIV Infection held in April 1999 as part of the company's "$6m-6 Day Plan," which set a goal of raising $6 million in six days.

Each trip-induced prescription of Serostim was for a 12-week treatment course valued at approximately $630,000 to Serono. Stupak allegedly offered the trip to the three physicians contingent on them writing at least 10 additional prescriptions of Serostim.

The U.S. Attorney's office said Stupak's push allegedly helped Serono net $6.3 million.

If convicted on three counts of offering to pay illegal remunerations, Stupak would face up to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and a $75,000 fine on each count, according to the U.S. Attorney.

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