While Gilead Sciences previously ponied up hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve kickback allegations related to its HIV business, the company this week triumphed over a whistleblower lawsuit that made similar claims in the hepatitis C space.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Gilead summary judgment in a whistleblower lawsuit—brought by a former Gilead sales specialist—that alleged the California drugmaker used expensive meals and cushy travel destinations to reward high-volume prescribers of its hepatitis C antivirals Sovaldi and Harvoni.

The plaintiff in the case, Toby Travis, previously worked for Gilead as a sales representative for hepatitis C drugs between July of 2013 and October of 2014 before he was fired for what the Thursday opinion describes as “several acts of misconduct.”

The crux of Travis’ allegations around the speaker programs relied on claims that Gilead targeted speakers based on their Sovaldi and Harvoni prescription volumes, paid those speakers exorbitantly, and that the programs were “shams,” according to this week’s legal filing.

“Here, despite years of discovery, Travis cannot point to evidence in the record—direct or circumstantial—that establishes that speaker programs focused on inducing and rewarding prescriptions by speakers,” Judge Rufe wrote in her opinion.

“We are pleased the Court dismissed this meritless case," a Gilead spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Gilead’s...

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