A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Eli Lilly’s Nappeal of an $183.7 million judgment won by a whistleblowing lawyer and pharmacist who accused the drugmaker of defrauding Medicaid.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said a federal jury reasonably found that Lilly knowingly concealed having retroactively increased prices on some drugs, and then failing to rebate Medicaid on the higher prices.
Circuit Judge Joshua Kolar said jurors heard “ample evidence” suggesting that Lilly “was aware of, or disregarded, an unjustifiable risk of skirting the law and chose to obfuscate rather than conduct a reasonable inquiry.”
The three-judge appeals court panel also rejected whistleblower Ronald Streck’s claim that the judgment should have been higher because the trial judge undercounted Lilly’s violations of the federal False Claims Act.
Jurors ordered Indianapolis-based Lilly to pay $61.23 million in August 2022, which the trial judge tripled to $183.7 million under the False Claims Act.
In a statement, Lilly said it disagreed with the decision and plans to appeal. It also said the decision conflicts with a 2018 ruling by the federal appeals court in Philadelphia, in a similar lawsuit by Streck against other drugmakers.
“We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate conduct in our business dealings,” Lilly said.
A lawyer for Streck had no immediate comment.
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