Courtesy of Cristina Arias/Getty Images

Greece’s Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced plans to sue Novartis over what he alleges are illegal practices. In addition to demanding compensation, the country is implementing a three-point plan.

The plan includes a mandate to set up a trading committee, appointing a U.S. law firm to defend the rights of Greece, and “an order for bringing an action before the Greek Justice for claiming the compensation for the insult of the Greek state with a reservation for any additional damage that will be determined and which has already been prepared.”

The scandal has been playing out for several years, with Novartis alleged to have paid Greek public officials and health care providers to increase prescriptions for its drugs and maintain higher prices.

Plevris stated that the Greece government is “taking all measures to hold Novartis accountable and compensate the Greek state for its illegal practices.”

Novartis is not the only drug company to run afoul of corruption laws in various countries, but it has had prominent cases. Back in 2015, the Swiss-based company paid $390 million to settle a civil lawsuit linked to the kickback payments to specialty pharmacy companies that distributed Exjade and Myfortic. The settlement was paid to the U.S. government and state Medicaid programs. The case involved more than 40 U.S. states.

In 2018, in relation to a 2016 federal lawsuit, at least 16 generic drug companies, including Novartis' generics...

Read Full Story: https://www.biospace.com/article/greece-goes-after-novartis-for-alleged-bribe...