While Gilead Sciences previously ponied up hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve kickback allegations related to its HIV business, the company this week triumphed over a whistleblower lawsuit that made similar claims in the hepatitis C space.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Gilead summary judgment in a whistleblower lawsuit—brought by a former Gilead sales specialist—that alleged the California drugmaker used expensive meals and cushy travel destinations to reward high-volume prescribers of its hepatitis C antivirals Sovaldi and Harvoni.
The plaintiff in the case, Toby Travis, previously worked for Gilead as a sales representative for hepatitis C drugs between July 2013 and October 2014 before he was fired for what the Thursday opinion describes as “several acts of misconduct.”
The crux of Travis’ allegations around the speaker programs relied on claims that Gilead targeted speakers based on their Sovaldi and Harvoni prescription volumes, paid those speakers exorbitantly, and that the programs were “shams,” according to this week’s legal filing.
“Here, despite years of discovery, Travis cannot point to evidence in the record—direct or circumstantial—that establishes that speaker programs focused on inducing and rewarding prescriptions by speakers,” Judge Rufe wrote in her opinion.
“We are pleased the Court dismissed this meritless case," a Gilead spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Gilead’s speaker programs have served to educate healthcare professionals about the appropriate use and benefits of these important medicines."
Travis originally filed the kickback lawsuit in early 2017 before submitting three amended complaints, the Thursday decision notes.
As part of his argument, Travis asked the court to take into account a previous settlement Gilead entered over speaker event kickback claims related to its HIV medications.
While Gilead acknowledged in that case that it used speaker programs as a marketing tool and that it had not done enough to prevent the inducement of prescriptions from doctors attending its events, the company argued that the situation was irrelevant to the hepatitis C proceedings, given the difference in therapeutic area and sales teams.
Back in April, Gilead entered a $202 million settlement to resolve the HIV kickbacks allegations. In striking the settlement, Gilead admitted to certain conduct, such as paying more than $300,000 to one speaker who ended up writing scripts for Gilead HIV drugs that yielded more than $6 million in federal reimbursement payments.
At the time, Gilead told Fierce Pharma that it “entered into this agreement to avoid the cost and distraction of potential litigation regarding this legacy compliance matter.”
Meanwhile, Gilead settled a separate hepatitis False Claims Act case—also brought by former sales staffers—in July 2021, according to Bloomberg Law.