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Healthy Skepticism Library item: 16408

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

 

Publication type: news

Comments on Behalf of Whistleblower Glen DeMott on False Claims Act Settlement Reached with Pfizer
Reuters 2009 Sep 2
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS196265+02-Sep-2009+PRN20090902


Full text:

The following comments were released by
the law firm of Grant & Eisenhofer, a counsel to whistleblower/relator Glen
DeMott, on the Justice Department’s $2.3 billion settlement with Pfizer which
was prompted by several lawsuits filed by whistleblowers, known as “Relators,”
under the Federal False Claims Act. Grant & Eisenhofer attorneys involved in
representing Glenn DeMott include Reuben Guttman, John Kairis and Traci
Buschner.

“We are pleased that this matter has been resolved by the Department of
Justice and now it is time for the Congress, as it focuses on health care
reform, to take a hard look at the conduct of the pharmaceutical industry to
determine whether further regulation and oversight are needed protect the
safety of the American public and to make sure that precious healthcare
dollars are prudently spent,” said Reuben Guttman, a partner at Grant &
Eisenhofer and one of the attorneys representing whistleblower Glen DeMott, a
former pharmaceutical sales representative.

“Legislation and regulatory diligence must ensure that prudent medical
practice is neither defined nor driven by pharmaceutical marketing campaigns,”
said John Kairis, another Grant & Eisenhofer partner. “Doctors and patients
must be confident that they are receiving accurate information, and the
government must know that it is paying for only those drugs and services that
are authorized and prescribed for medically necessary purposes, rather than
generated by kickbacks or improper off-label marketing.”

“There also needs to be legislation that will more easily allow
non-governmental third party payors, including health and welfare funds and
insurance carriers, to seek the same type of redress against the type of
wrongful pharmaceutical industry misconduct that has been redressed under the
False Claims Act,” said Guttman.

“Finally, we were proud to have represented Glen DeMott, a courageous
individual who put his career on the line as one of several whistleblowers who
brought to the government’s attention the matters that ultimately gave rise to
this settlement,” said Guttman. “The settlement is yet another reminder of the
role that whistleblowers play in helping to enforce compliance with law and
protect the public.”

Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A. has offices in Washington, D.C., Wilmington,
Delaware, and New York City. The firm recently expanded to include False
Claims qui tam litigation. Grant & Eisenhofer is known for representing
institutional investors and shareholders internationally in securities class
actions, corporate governance actions and derivative litigation. In the past
five years, Grant & Eisenhofer has recovered more than $12 billion for
shareholders and has been on the National Law Journal’s list of Top Plaintiffs
firms since the list’s inception. For more information, visit www.gelaw.com
and its False Claims Act website, www.whistleblowerlaws.com.

 

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