Settlement amount: $760 million
Year of settlement: pending
Drugs involved: The anemia drugs Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and Epogen (epoetin alfa)
Criminal charges filed? Not yet determined
Amgen is accused in a whistle-blower lawsuit with overfilling vials of Aranesp so that doctors could give the “free” drugs to patients and then bill insurance companies for it. The company is also accused of using the promise of extra profits to bribe doctors to write prescriptions for Aranesp instead of competing drugs. In addition, federal investigations into the company’s misconduct involve the marketing, pricing and dosing of its anemia drugs, along with the promotion of clinical trial data on their safety and effectiveness. Amgen has said that it has set aside the money to settle the various investigations and lawsuits.