Open Payments

Compliance News in Review, April 13, 2016

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Industry companies in Canada announce plans to voluntarily disclose payment data. Massachusetts institutes new disclosure requirements, the DOJ offers smaller penalties in exchange for self-reporting, an administrative court in France recommends the provision for allowing DPAs be removed from bribery legislation, and Shionogi receives a warning letter for a co-pay coupon.

April showers bring May flowers, and outside the News in Review offices, we’re already feeling the brunt of that whimsical rhyme. But, the bright colors and fragrant blooms are just around the bend, so we’ll tolerate a bit of turbulent transitional weather for the opportunity to soon enjoy nature’s bountiful beauty. In the meantime, after you dry out the umbrellas and shake off the cold rain, we offer the latest in the compliance news fit to blog, with this edition of the Compliance News in Review.

There’s only Sunshine on the horizon in Canada. Ten of the country’s top drug firms plan to voluntarily disclose aggregate physician and healthcare organization payment data. The movement was started by GSK Canada, and they were joined by other multinational firms including, Abbvie, Purdue, BMS and Lilly. Canada’s industry trade organization praises the initiative. Critics claim the plan will yield no meaningful information, and are pressuring Canadian lawmakers to pass a U.S.-style Sunshine Act.

New disclosure requirements are blooming for physicians in Massachusetts. The state’s Medical Society is now requiring its members to disclose financial ties to industry, including the receipt of free goods or services from companies, when they post information or review a medical procedure or service on the Internet. The requirement comes as a result of growing concern about physicians promoting treatments on social media platforms.

Could a respite from the bribery enforcement storm be on the horizon? The Department of Justice announced a one year pilot program for companies to self-report violations of the FCPA, in exchange for reduced penalties. Under the program, companies that self-report and take steps to remediate identified problems will be eligible for significantly lower fines. The head of the agency’s fraud unit says the program draws a line between companies that self-report and those that cooperate once violations are identified by the DOJ.

There’s a light rain falling on France’s new anti-bribery efforts. The country’s highest administrative court has recommended removal of the provision for Deferred Prosecution Agreements in foreign bribery legislation. The recommendation did not come as a surprise, considering the calls from numerous organizations to remove the provision.

A co-pay coupon brought out the dreary side of the FDA for Shionogi. The company received a warning letter for omitting risk information on a co-pay coupon for a drug approved to treat lice. The FDA says the coupon touted the efficacy of the product without stating any of the risks. The coupon did provide the website addresses where consumers could read the full prescribing information but the letter claims that is not enough to address the full risk information requirement.

The FDA’s position on truthful off-label statements has been the focus of recent headlines. Ensuring that colleagues are trained on the requirements related to promotional statements is critical. According to a study, the FDA cited omission of risk in 60% of the untitled and warning letters that were issued between 2013 and 2015. You can read about our observations on those letters here. Everything from press releases to statements made by hired speakers is subject to FDA oversight, providing training to all who are in a position to make promotional statements is important.

Well, that’s the news for now. We look forward to seeing you, rain or shine, for the next edition of the Compliance News in Review.

The 2016 Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress: a Preview

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On April 26 and 27, compliance professionals and government representatives will gather in Washington, D.C. for the 13th Annual Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress. As usual, the conference offers a cornucopia of sessions and workshops focused on important compliance topics. There is plenty to see and learn, but here are the topics that have piqued our interests:

Day One General Session: FMV Considerations and Emerging Compliance Risk – In this age of transparency, FMV is a hot topic for life science companies and healthcare providers alike. This session, along with the breakout sessions on the same topic, offer a great opportunity to identify emerging risks related to FMV, and learn best practices from industry colleagues.

Day One General Session: EFPIA Initiatives for 2016 and Beyond — Charting the Course for Global Transparency – EFPIA members have completed their first year of data collection to comply with the Disclosure Code. We’re hoping to hear about the early challenges companies are facing and EFPIA’s plans for the future of its transparency initiative.

Day One Track: Product Promotional Compliance – In particular, we are interested in two sessions:

Social Media — New Challenges and Opportunities: While social media presents a unique set of challenges, its affect on life sciences marketing and compliance has to be taken into consideration.

Speaker Programs and Medical Roundtables — Environment and Areas of Risk: In this era of increasing scrutiny, we’re specifically interested in hearing about the emerging risks surrounding roundtables and the strategies for mitigating those risks.

Day One Workshop: Analyze FCPA Updates and Identify Areas of High-Risk to Mitigate Non-Compliance, paired with the Day Two General Session FBI address, International Corruption Squads – the FCPA and Beyond – At the end of 2015, the DOJ announced that it planned to hire 10 additional attorneys for its Fraud Division FCPA Unit. Also, the Serious Fraud Office entered into its first corporate Deferred Prosecution Agreement for violation of the U.K. Bribery Act last year. Enforcement of anti-corruption laws continues to be a priority for the U.S. and governments abroad. Learning about the emerging risk areas, and how various agencies cooperate in enforcement, is key to ensuring that your anti-corruption program is covering all the right bases.

Day Two Track: Fraud, Abuse and Kickback Prevention – The scrutiny of payments to physicians is only going to increase as more entities comb through transparency data. Concern from investigators and enforcement agencies about the potential for kickbacks is growing. The discussion on anti-kickback enforcement trends, and the establishment of compensation limits will be helpful when addressing your organizational kickback risks.

Day Two Discussion Group: Focus on Pricing – Considerations for Compliance as Scrutiny Heats Up – Last year, we saw the largest settlement ($12.4M) under the OIG’s Civil Monetary Penalties Authority. The settlement was over price misreporting, and enforcement in this area isn’t about to let up. This session presents a great opportunity to learn about best practices and the challenges compliance professionals are facing regarding government pricing.

Day Two Track: Compliance Program Structure and Effectiveness – Engage the Organization to Promote Ethics within Compliance

Okay, we may be a bit biased on this one, since Peter Sandford from NXLevel Solutions is one of the presenters, but as your training audience evolves, so should your compliance training. As millennials bring a new sense of energy and expectations to the industry, implementing modern and innovative learning strategies is more important than ever. Peter and his co-presenter, Jim Massey – Vice President, Global Compliance, Enablement & Assurance, AstraZeneca, will share five key principles for integrating creative and engaging compliance training into your organization.

We invite you to stop by the NXLevel booth to see demos of our compliance-focused training solutions and to share your thoughts on the sessions. And while you’re there, don’t forget to enter our drawing to win a Bose® SoundLink® Bluetooth speaker.

Stay compliant and we’ll see you in Washington!

Compliance News in Review, March 29, 2016

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New anti-corruption measures are introduced in Australia, the FDA announces a new requirement for opioid labels, PhRMA is sending researchers to Capitol Hill, and Respironics settles False Claims allegations.

Everything’s coming up roses…and daffodils and tulips. Spring fever is here! Of course, with that beauty comes all that not so lovely pollen, but for now at least, we prefer to stay positive. To help pass the time as you wait for old man winter to release his final desperate grip, we offer the Compliance News in Review, blooming with all the recent compliance fit to blog.

Seeds of change have been planted in Australia. Following criticism from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Australian government is taking steps to strengthen anti-corruption measures in the country. Several new anti-corruption measure have been introduced in the last several months by the government. New laws went into effect that clarified that proving intent to influence a foreign official was not necessary to establish a bribery claim, and that strengthened accounting fraud laws. The government also shared a discussion paper regarding the possibility of implementing DPAs in corporate law cases.

The Food and Drug Administration announced it will now require labels on short-acting opioids to include a “black box” warning about the risk of addiction, abuse, overdose, and death associated with use of the products. The warning must include a statement indicating that the chronic use of the drugs by pregnant women may result in a painful withdrawal process for the newborn. The warning applies to over 200 products. The change comes as part of a larger government strategy to combat opioid abuse.

PhRMA is making plans to sprout up on Capitol Hill. The trade association plans to send top scientists and researchers to meet with lawmakers to discuss drug pricing. PhRMA CEO, Steve Ubl, says the organization is going to take a more proactive tact in addressing issues around drug pricing. Mr. Ubl said, “I think it’s fair to say this represents a bit of a pivot for the organization. We’re going to develop a proactive policy agenda, and we’re going to drive it.” In the past, PhRMA has reacted to negativity about extreme drug price increases at companies like Turing and Valeant, by explaining the complexities of drug pricing, or by distancing itself from the companies by pointing out they are not PhRMA member. Moving forward, the organization plans to push for policy that will limit price increases.

The bloom is off the rose at sleep apnea mask manufacturer, Respironics. The company agreed to pay almost $35 million to settle False Claims Act allegations. Respironics was accused of providing kickbacks, in the form of free call center services, to durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers that bought its sleep apnea mask. DME suppliers that did not use the Respironics product had to pay a monthly fee for using the call center. The illegal activity allegedly occurred between April of 2012 and November of 2015.

Well, that’s all the news springing up around here for this edition. Have a great week everyone and may hope spring eternal!

Compliance News in Review, Ides of March Edition

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BMS makes changes to its promotional spend policy in China, a physician is sentenced to prison for accepting kickbacks, and the FDA agrees to allow Amarin to promote its fish oil drug for off-label purposes.

“Beware the Ides of March,” and with good reason. Not only was Julius Caesar assassinated during the Ides, but Czar Nicholas II abdicated his throne, the Nazi’s occupied Czechoslovakia, and the issuance of global health alert concerning the SARS virus all occurred on that infamous date. While plenty of good things probably happened as well, we’re stocking up on horseshoes and four leaf clovers here at the News in Review headquarters, just in case. As we wait for the clock to tick down on March 15th, let’s look at the fortunes of those who made news in the world of compliance, with this edition of the News in Review (fingers crossed it isn’t all bad).

Advice from a soothsayer isn’t necessary for BMS to make changes to its promotional spending policy in China. The company will no longer pay speaker fees to doctors, and will be cutting is spending on entertainment and donations to medical associations due to red flags identified in its Chinese operations. This is second wave of changes for BMS in China, following the company’s settlement with the SEC over violations of the FCPA.

Misfortune has certainly followed one Chicago doctor into March. Dr. Michael Reinstein was sentenced to nine months in prison for accepting kickbacks when issuing prescriptions for clozapine. The doctor admitted to accepting close to $600,000 in kickbacks for prescribing the drug. The defense requested probation, but the judge rejected the request, saying Dr. Reinstein’s patients were among the most vulnerable in society and he violated the trust of those patients when he accepted the kickbacks.

The news isn’t all bad in the Ides, though. The FDA has agreed to allow Amarin to promote its fish oil drug for off-label purposes. Amarin filed suit against the FDA claiming the agency was violating its free speech rights by trying to restrict the company from sharing truthful off-label information in its promotion of the drug. The FDA agreed to be bound by the decision issued in US District Court, which allowed the truthful off-label promotion of the drug. The agency says “the settlement is specific to this particular case and situation, and does not signify a position on the First Amendment and commercial speech.”

As witnessed by the FDA’s statement on the Amarin settlement, a definitive stance regarding the use of off-label information when promoting a product seems to still be a moving target. While companies and legal-types debate how this decision, and other free-speech cases, should be interpreted and applied, we see it as another opportunity to highlight all the legal requirements around product promotion. Providing fair-balance, making accurate, truthful and not-misleading statements are just as important when promoting a prescription drug or device. As an example, notice of violation letters sent by OPDP in recent years typically site inaccurate and misleading statements as the reason for the notice.

With that, we put a green ribbon on this “pre” Saint Patrick’s Day edition of the Compliance News in Review. Here’s hoping the Ides treat you well. Have a great week everyone and stay compliant!

Compliance Buzz March 14, 2016 – Three Good Reasons to Pre-Disclose HCP Spend

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To pre-disclose, or not to pre-disclose. That is the question.

Life science staffs are juggling multiple HCP spend transparency disclosure requirements these days. Managing those requirements can be a complex process, involving multiple systems and personnel dedicated to collecting and reporting the data. Teams charged with the management of spend transparency have to consider whether pre-disclosing the data, outside of what may be required by law, is a good idea.

Here are three reasons why we think the answer is yes:

1: It keeps HCP’s from being blindsided. Under most global transparency initiatives, data sent to regulatory bodies is made public, so it must be accurate. Pre-disclosure is one tool that can be used to facilitate that effort. Since the release of Open Payments data (and even before with ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs), local media outlets have featured stories about which doctors in their state or locality are receiving the most money from the industry. Pre-disclosure is one way to help HCPs be prepared for the information that will be released about them.

In addition, HCPs that have relationships with public medical institutions are required to disclose their relationships with industry companies. Discrepancies between what an HCP reports to a medical institution and what is disclosed through Open Payments or other transparency initiatives can be problematic for these HCPs. Pre-disclosure gives HCPs the opportunity to ensure that what they’ve reported, or will report, to these institutions aligns with what is disclosed to the public. Pre-disclosure demonstrates a true partnership between the company and the HCP.

2: It helps a company proactively address discrepancies . Pre-disclosing spend information throughout a reporting year allows for queries and disputed transactions to be addressed prior to any review period required by regulators. In fact, under Open Payments and the Medicines Australia’s Code of Conduct, the required review period is relatively short considering the volume of transactions open to dispute. Granted, wholesale  disputes of data are highly unlikely, however, just one or two disputes, multiplied  over an HCP universe of hundreds of practitioners, add up quickly. Spreading those disputes over time is a more effective approach.

3: It’s good customer service. During CBI’s 9th Annual Aggregate Spend and Transparency Forum, two panelists from the American Medical Association Board of Trustees noted that physicians were most concerned about accurate data being released to the public. The panelists emphasized that providing a website for physicians to review spend data prior to the Open Payments review period would help in alleviate those concerns.

For a reportable recipient, spend transparency initiatives are akin to consumer credit reporting. Information is being shared about their business relationships, yet they aren’t really part of the collection and data release process. Some transparency initiatives require a review period for reportable recipients, but reportable recipients then need to review a large amount of data at once, potentially from multiple sources. Pre-disclosure allows reportable recipients to review smaller chunks of spend data over time, rather than during a single short window. This helps customers better manage what they can control . That’s good customer service.

The bottom line: pre-disclosure is a good idea because it benefits the company responsible for reporting and the HCPs about whom information is being reported. When spend data is pre-disclosed,  HCPs have the opportunity to review that data for accuracy before it is submitted to regulatory agencies and the company is presented with a valuable opportunity to engage in a critical and proactive conversation with its HCP partners.

Compliance News in Review, February 23, 2016

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Did you feel the awakening? It was as if a million voices cried out in joy, then were suddenly, silently going about their business again. Geekerati rejoice! The Star Wars: Episode VII video announcing the beginning of production on the next installment has been released. December 15, 2017 can’t get here fast enough! We’ll have to wait to learn about what happens in that galaxy far, far away, but in the meantime, we can at least keep up with the recent news from the compliance universe, with this edition of the Compliance News in Review.

Do you have questions about this year’s Open Payments submission? There’s no need to seek answers using the Force while CMS is around. The agency held a webinar to discuss this year’s submission and take questions from stakeholders. CMS presented an overview of enhancements to the system and the timeline for submissions before taking questions. Those questions focused on reporting requirements, the dispute process, and the deletion of records.

UK government officials are launching an “urgent investigation” (hopefully not urgent enough to break out the mind probe) into the possibility that National Health Service (NHS) officials received consulting payments from pharmaceutical companies. The investigation is based on a report by the Telegraph that more than 130 NHS officials, most in positions to assess what medications would be used by patients, were receiving the payments. The payments were allegedly provided to the NHS workers in return for serving on advisory boards. Activities related to the advisory boards ranged from participation in teleconferences to travel to meetings outside the UK, where the participants stayed at luxury hotels.

Negotiations in the Amarin case are moving slower than a space slug. The FDA and Amarin have requested a third extension in the process as they look to reach a settlement in the case involving the off-label promotion of Amarin’s omega-3 drug. The extension will delay the court proceedings until March 18.

Pfizer has reached an agreement in principle with the federal government in a False Claims Act case involving the calculation of Medicaid rebates for the drug Protonix. The product was marketed by Pfizer’s Wyeth unit. The company will pay $784.6 million to resolve the charges, and will not admit any liability in the case.

The Jedi Master of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will remain in his post a bit longer than planned. The UK’s Attorney General extended the contract of SFO head, David Green, for two years. Green’s contract was set to expire in April, and now will expire in April of 2018.

France could be joining the Alliance of countries beefing up their anti-corruption laws. Draft legislation of an anti-corruption law will be presented to the French State Council for validation, and will then move on to the legislative process. The French Parliament is expected to begin its review in April of this year. Highlights of the draft include the creation of anti-corruption agency with the power to impose sanctions; a requirement mandating corporations have a compliance function in place; and the implementation of a number of Sunshine requirements, most notably the disclosure of payments to lobbyists.

Anticorruption efforts by government agencies have certainly been a hot topic of late. From the announcement that the FBI would be hiring additional FCPA investigatory staff, to the SciClone settlement, and the news of a new law on the horizon in France, governments around the world are taking steps to root out bribery and corruption. That’s why now is as good a time as any to review your company’s current anticorruption program, including the training that addresses anticorruption laws. For multinational companies, training on the FCPA alone is not enough. The UK Bribery Act is just as far reaching, and your colleagues need to understand the differences in the two laws. In addition, both Mexico and Brazil have implemented tougher anticorruption laws in the last several years, and training should be provided on those as well.

Thanks for reading everyone, and may the Force be with your compliance training efforts.

Compliance News in Review, February 15, 2016

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Ah, l’amour! It is the stuff of literature, song, poetry, and this time of year, greeting cards galore. Some might refer to Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark Holiday,” but any day that makes the consumption of chocolate practically mandatory is okay by us. Valentine’s Day…a day to do something special for that special someone and/or the special people in your life. While it may not be as exciting as the dozen roses or heart-shaped box of candy you received, we offer a valentine of our own, with this edition of the Compliance News in Review.

If the cliché, “sharing is caring,” is true, CMS is ready for life sciences companies to commence with their annual caring. The Open Payments system is now accepting registrations, registration certification, and data submissions.

Sweet nothings, or any other comments for that matter, were definitely not whispered by Martin Shrkeli at a recent Congressional hearing into extreme drug price increases by his former company, Turing. Shrkeli was questioned and lectured by members of Congress, but he continually stated that he was invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself by testifying. Following the hearing, he took to Twitter, where he referred to the members of Congress as “imbeciles.” Valeant Pharmaceuticals CEO, Howard Schiller, did testify, and spoke of efforts his company was making to respond to the outrage over extreme price increases.

We just received a veritable bouquet of bills from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The Committee passed seven bills as part of the House of Representatives’ 21St Century Cures. The seven bills are intended to increase funding for medical innovation and streamline requirements for new drug approvals. HELP members spend the better part of year deadlocked over increased NIH funding and regulatory changes for drug approvals, so chairman Lamar Alexander created the smaller measures to move the process forward.

It’s all candy hearts and flowers now between SciClone and the SEC. The company reached a $12.8 million settlement agreement with the SEC to resolve allegations it violated the FCPA. The DOJ chose not to pursue charges following its investigation. The allegations centered on the company’s actions in China. The government claimed the company provided gifts and travel for corrupt intent, failed to conduct proper due diligence of travel vendors who were used to funnel bribes to government officials, and failed to conduct an effective internal investigation when t learned of instances of bribery.

The SciClone case points out the need for a robust anticorruption program. SciClone employees provided gifts, travels and expensive meals to government officials and their family members with a corrupt intent, and a vendor provided bribes as well. Due diligence and proper monitoring are key pieces of any anti-bribery program, but so is training. In-depth anticorruption training needs to be deployed to employees, vendors, and any third-party agents conducting business on the company’s behalf. Anyone who represents a company must understand who is considered a government official, what constitutes a bribe, and the types of activities that raise red flags. This is particularly important for pharmaceutical and medical device companies since healthcare professionals may fall under the broad umbrella of a government official. The feds are adding additional headcount to focus on FCPA investigations, so now is the time to evaluate, re-energize, and re-boot anticorruption training.

Have a great week everyone!

The 2015 Compliance Year in Review (and Look Forward to the Rest of 2016)

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The start of 2016 may be filled with hope for good compliance-related news to come, but before we travel too far forward with our prognostications, let’s take a look back at some of the stories that really struck a chord in 2015. Charge up your flux capacitor everyone, as we travel back a few weeks and months, with this edition of the Compliance News in Review: the Yearly Edition.

In 2015, a full year’s worth of data was submitted to the Open Payments program. Considering the rejection of massive amounts of 2014 data, as well as the registration issues and delays that plagued the first Open Payments data submission period, system users certainly had cause to be concerned about the 2015 period. Happily, CMS made improvements, and the process, while not problem free, was smoother in 2015. The agency improved its validated physician list for manufacturers and its data matching processes, which resulted in fewer records being rejected. The improvements in the registration process seemed to help manufacturers, but did little to improve the physician experience.

CMS announced additional improvements that will hopefully improve users’ experience in 2016, including the removal of limitations around entering special characters in text fields, and improving users’ downloading capabilities.

The life sciences industry certainly pushed the free speech issue with the FDA in 2015. Two companies filed suits against the agency, arguing that they had the right to truthfully promote drugs for off-label uses. In the Amarin suit, the court granted an injunction, and the company is free to promote the drug for use in a wider patient population than the drug was originally approved.

On the heels of that case, Pacira filed suit over the FDA’s insistence that the company was promoting a pain killer for post-surgery pain, an unapproved use.  After the company received a warning letter, stating that drug was only approved for use following a specific type of surgery, Pacira argued that the FDA was illegally trying to narrow the approved use. The company also argued that even if it was promoting the drug for an off-label purpose, it had the right to do so, as long as it was sharing truthful information. The FDA quietly removed the warning letter from its website and eventually settled the case.

After years of chatter, but very little visible action, the Serious Fraud Office entered into its first deferred prosecution agreement with a corporate entity, over violations of the U.K. Bribery Act. Standard Bank was accused of failing to prevent bribery by an allied person. The DPA remains in effect for three years and requires the bank to pay $32.6 million; submit to a review of its anti-bribery policies by an independent reviewer and make any changes recommended by the reviewer; and cooperate with authorities in any other matters that arise from the indictment.

The year was devoid of multi-billion dollar settlements in the industry, but 2015 did see the largest settlement by the OIG under its civil monetary penalty authority. The OIG settled with Sandoz for $12.64 million over allegations the company submitted inaccurate ASP data to the Medicare program. The agency alleged that the company submitted inaccurate data between 2010 and 2012, which “undermined the integrity of the Medicare Part B drug pricing system.”

Any worthwhile year-end retrospective needs to include a look forward. So here are the issues that we think will be hot topics in 2016:

  1. Drug pricing transparency. In 2015, several states proposed laws that would require companies to disclose costs for drugs that run in the thousands of dollars per-dose or course of treatment. This push isn’t likely to go away, considering recent dramatic drug price hikes by companies like Valeant and Turing, which resulted in inquiries by lawmakers in the latter part of the year.
  2. Transparency in Europe. Staying on the transparency theme, we expect physician spend reporting in Europe to be a prominent news story toward the middle of the year. The first round of reporting under the EFPIA Transparency Code is due then, and the first round is sure to be thoroughly dissected and analyzed.
  3. Individual accountability. In September of 2015, the Department of Justice released a memo from Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates saying the agency plans to focus on holding individuals accountable in cases of corporate crime. Not exactly earth shattering news, but the DOJ has put it in writing, so they must really, really mean it. Whether the agency brings a case against an individual in 2016 or not, the policy is sure to be widely discussed by federal prosecutors and other agency representatives at conferences throughout the year.

Have a great 2016 everyone! We’ll see you at CBI’s Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress January 26 and 27.

Compliance News in Review, December 10, 2015

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One of the great traditions of the Christmas season is the performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker by ballet companies and dance schools around the world. Whether performed by professionals or students, the ballet is full of magic and fantasy. A young girl, Clara (or Marie, depending on the production), receives a nutcracker, which comes to life, fights an army of giant rats, and then whisks Clara away to land of sweets ruled over by the Sugarplum Fairy. Almost as delightful as the prospects of watching giant rodents fight on stage is what’s been happening in the world of life science compliance. Places everyone! Time for the Compliance News in Review.

Standard Bank is taking a bow as the first company to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Serious Fraud Office over violations of the U.K. Bribery Act. The company was accused of failing to prevent bribery by an allied person. The DPA remains in effect for three years and requires the bank to pay $32.6 million; submit to a review of its anti-bribery policies by an independent reviewer and make any changes recommended by the reviewer; and cooperate with authorities in any other matters that arise from the indictment.

It’s not a dream Clara, the DOJ announced it has recovered $3.5 billion in False Claims Act cases in 2015. As in years past, healthcare fraud represented the lion’s share of the recoveries. In 2015, healthcare fraud cases totaled nearly $2 billion. Cases against the pharma industry represented $96 million of that total. It was a good year for qui tam relators as well. Of the $2.8 billion recovered from qui tam cases, a record $1.1 billion came from cases in which the U.S. chose not to intervene.

Harvard Medical School has made a slight change to its conflict of interest policy. The school is relaxing a policy that prohibited faculty from accepting equipment or other support from a private company in which they have equity, or from a public company in which they hold equity of $30,000 or more. The school will now allow faculty conducting basic research to petition for an exclusion from the rule if they can show that the benefits of the research outweigh any potential conflict of interest. Faculty would also need to show they have measures in place to guard against conflicts of interest.

Physicians may need Uncle Drosselmeyer to come guide them through the Sunshine Act sine a new study shows professional medical organizations aren’t doing so. The study appeared in the journal, Postgraduate Medicine. Researchers reviewed 59 articles and found there was very little guidance regarding the Act, and professional associations tended to focus on sharing broad information about reporting requirements. Rarely was there information regarding payments for research grants, trial participating and medical publication. The authors conclude that expert guidance about the Final Rule itself is needed, and suggest a lack of guidance may impact physician investigators’ participation in clinical trials and publishing results.

Clara’s trip to the land of sweets may have all been a dream conjured up by the mysterious Drosselmeyer, but after years of anticipation, the SFO is making its promise of dealing with corporate bribery a reality. In addition to the Standard Bank DPA, another corporation was recently charged by the SFO with violating the U.K. Bribery Act by failing to prevent bribery. If the lack of prosecutorial action has made training on the U.K. Bribery Act a lower priority for you, now is the time to move it up the priority list. Likewise, if you haven’t trained on the Act recently, a refresher course may be in order to ensure employees and third parties are up to speed on the requirements and your company’s policies.

That’s a wrap for this edition of the Compliance News in Review. Keep dancing everyone…and stay compliant.

Compliance News in Review, November 24, 2015

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The new nominee to head the FDA faces some tough questions on Capitol Hill, state prosecutors join to investigate potential false claims made by pharmacies, and the AMA institutes a policy calling for a ban on DTC advertising.

Gobble, gobble! Bring on the food coma, it’s Thanksgiving! We can practically smell the turkey and stuffing (or “dressing,” depending on what part of the country you call home) now! While the holiday doesn’t hold the same lore for Hollywood as Christmas, it has inspired at least one memorable sitcom scene. The food, football, parades, family and friends…we’re ready for Thursday! In the meantime, we’ll pass the time with this edition of the Compliance News in Review.

President Obama’s nominee to head the FDA was talking turkey during a recent confirmation hearing. Questions for Dr. Robert Califf were generally tame, but a couple of senators got tough with questions about his ties to the pharmaceutical industry and drug pricing. Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed her concern over what she described as “significant financial support” from pharmaceutical companies that Dr. Califf received while he was a researcher at Duke University. The doctor objected to the idea that the support biased his research in any way, and said copies of industry-funded research contracts would be provided to the committee. Senator Bernie Sanders was the only senator expressing an objection to the nomination, saying the FDA needed a commissioner that would be aggressive in fighting for lower drug costs, and Califf isn’t that person. Much of the discussion focused on the backlog of generic drug approvals at the FDA and Califf agreed that the agency could improve the approval rate.

Federal prosecutors in Florida, California, Texas and Mississippi are gathering around the table with the Department of Defense to investigate fraudulent claims made to the Tricare program by compounding pharmacies. Allegedly, one marketing group went so far as to use social media to promote compound creams to military members and their spouses. In the 2015 fiscal year, Tricare paid $1.75 billion for compounded drugs, which is nearly 20% more than the program paid in 2012 for these drugs.

Time to make a change to the drug marketing recipe, according to the American Medical Association. At an interim meeting of the Association, a policy calling for the ban of direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs in medical devices was adopted. The new policy is based on the idea that money poured into the marketing of drugs is inflating prices, and DTC advertising drives a demand for expensive new medications, which are not always appropriate. In addition to calling for a ban on DTC advertising, the policy will establish a task force focused on lowering the cost of drugs by advocating for more competition in the sector and transparency in drug pricing.

Before we close this edition of the Compliance News in Review, we’d like to take a moment to say how thankful we are for all you, our dear readers. Whether you’re celebration leads you over the river and through the woods, or keeps you closer to your own home, we wish you happy and safe Thanksgiving.

See you in December!