Biogen Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Kickback Scheme to Block Generic Competition for Multiple Sclerosis Drug Tecfidera

Biogen Sued for Alleged Kickback Scheme:
Biogen Inc. is facing a lawsuit alleging that the company participated in an unlawful scheme to reduce competition from generic versions of its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera.

Use of Foundations for Kickbacks:
The government alleged that Biogen used two foundations with 501(c)(3) status to engage in a prohibited kickback scheme.

Previous Settlements:
Biogen previously agreed to pay $22 million to resolve allegations of engaging in a kickback scheme and $900 million to settle a whistleblower suit alleging kickbacks to doctors to increase prescriptions of its multiple sclerosis drugs.

Market Switch Strategy:
The lawsuit claims Biogen developed a "market-switch strategy" to have doctors switch from prescribing Tecfidera to Vumerity before generic versions of Tecfidera were available.

Unlawful Agreements with PBMs:
Biogen allegedly entered into unlawful agreements with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to block the distribution of generic Tecfidera and paid them to refrain from advantaging generic Tecfidera over branded Tecfidera and Vumerity.