March 17, 2010

Maine shares in drug fraud settlement

By John Richardson jrichardson@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Maine has signed onto a national $42.5 million settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturer, Alpharma Inc.

Maine will receive over $405,000, while Medicaid programs nationwide will receive approximately $19.2 million of the total settlement, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills announced today.

The agreement settles allegations of false or fraudulent Medicaid claims for the drug Kadian, a morphine sulfate product that manages pain.

Maine alleged that, from 2000 through 2008, Alpharma made or disseminated false statements about the safety and efficacy of Kadian to induce health care providers to prescribe the drug. Alpharma also offered and paid for training programs, consulting forums, research grants, and speaker’s bureaus to illegally promote Kadian, the states alleged.

A team representing the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units participated in the investigation and conducted settlement negotiations with Alpharma on behalf of the states.

Were you interviewed for this story? If so, please fill out our accuracy form

Send question/comment to the editors




Further Discussion

Here at OnlineSentinel.com we value our readers and are committed to growing our community by encouraging you to add to the discussion. To ensure conscientious dialogue we have implemented a strict no-bullying policy. To participate, you must follow our Terms of Use.

Questions about the article? Add them below and we’ll try to answer them or do a follow-up post as soon as we can. Technical problems? Email them to us with an exact description of the problem. Make sure to include:
  • Type of computer or mobile device your are using
  • Exact operating system and browser you are viewing the site on (TIP: You can easily determine your operating system here.)


Most…