Incyte Corporation, headquartered in Delaware, has agreed to pay $12.6 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by using a foundation as a conduit to pay the copays of Medicare and TRICARE patients taking Incyte’s drug Jakafi. Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, a pharmaceutical company cannot offer or pay, directly or indirectly, any remuneration—which includes money or any other thing of value—to induce Medicare or TRICARE patients to purchase the company’s drugs. This prohibition includes the payment of patients’ copay obligations. Payment of those prescriptions in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute leads to submission of false claims to Medicare and TRICARE and violations of the False Claims Act. Incyte sells Jakafi, a medication approved to treat myleofibrosis in 2011 and approved to treat other disorders after 2014.
Incyte allegedly was the sole donor to a fund that was opened by a nonprofit foundation in November 2011 to assist only myleofibrosis patients. After the fund opened, the government alleges that from November 2011 through December 2014, Incyte used its influence as the sole donor of the fund to have the foundation pay the copays of Medicare and TRICARE patients taking Jakafi that did not have myelofibrosis, and thus were not eligible for assistance from the fund. Incyte managers allegedly pressured the foundation, through phone calls and emails, to provide economic assistance to these ineligible patients, and Incyte’s contractor helped ineligible patients to complete their applications that were submitted to the fund for assistance. The government alleges that through this conduct, Incyte caused false claims for Jakafi to be submitted to Medicare and TRICARE.
