Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte has announced that New Hampshire has finalized its share of a national Medicaid settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and its former wholly owned subsidiary Apothecon, Inc. to resolve allegations of illegal marketing and pricing of prescription medications paid for by the State’s Medicaid Program. New Hampshire’s share of the settlement was $1.2 million. The amount paid by BMS to all state Medicaid programs was $389 million, resolving an investigation dating back several years.

The settlement addresses allegations that BMS: (1) reported inflated prices for various prescription drugs knowing that Medicaid would rely upon the reported prices in setting reimbursement rates for certain BMS and Apothecon products; (2) made illegal payments to health care providers to induce the purchase of BMS and Apothecon products; (3) promoted the sale of Abilify, an antipsychotic drug, for pediatric use and for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis, when such uses were not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration; and (4) misreported sales prices for Serzone, an antidepressant, that resulted in the underpayment of rebates to state Medicaid programs.

“The Medicaid program provides essential prescription drug coverage for New Hampshire’s most vulnerable residents. In order to protect New Hampshire taxpayers from paying more than their fair share of Medicaid costs, as demonstrated by the BMS settlement, my Office will continue to work closely with the Attorneys General from other states in pursuing drug manufacturers where there is evidence supporting such actions,” said Attorney General Kelly Ayotte.