The government said in lawsuits filed in federal District Court in Massachusetts that Wyeth provided its Protonix Oral and Protonix IV acid-reflux drugs to hospitals nationwide at a discount while not providing that discount to the Medicaid program, The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday.
The government alleges the company's discounts to thousands of hospitals reached up to a 94 percent discount in some cases.
"By offering massive discounts to hospitals, but then hiding that information from the Medicaid program, we believe Wyeth caused Medicaid programs throughout the country to pay much more for these drugs than they should have," Tony West, the Civil Division's assistant U.S. attorney general, said in a release.
A spokesman for Wyeth has defended the company's pricing policies, insisting the pharmaceutical group will vigorously defended itself from the lawsuits.
The Journal said the legal action against the company over its product pricing is similar to a lawsuit against Merck & Co. that it settled with a $250 million settlement.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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