Pfizer to Pay $59.7 Million Over Kickbacks for Migraine Drug

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay $59.7 million to settle allegations that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd., violated the anti-kickback statute by paying improper incentives to healthcare providers to prescribe its migraine medication, Nurtec ODT. The settlement resolves claims that Biohaven knowingly caused the submission of false claims to federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, prior to its acquisition by Pfizer.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that between March 2020 and September 2022, Biohaven offered financial incentives, including speaker honoraria and expensive meals, to healthcare professionals to boost prescriptions of Nurtec ODT. The DOJ further alleged that Biohaven's speaker programs were often attended by individuals with no educational need, such as family members and colleagues of the speakers, and that many attendees received no meaningful educational benefit from the programs.