Allergan reached a settlement in the whistleblower suit brought against its former Lap-Band product business, according to the DOJ.
Here's what you should know.
1. Allergan allegedly defrauded the government by having healthcare providers submit false claims to Medicare for use of knowingly defective Lap-Band Adjustable Gastric Banding Systems.
2. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland alleged Allergan knowingly sold Lap-Bands with defective or flawed access ports from January 2008 to November 2010. To conceal the flaw, Allergan misrepresented facts concerning the cause of access port leaks and failed to report required data or complaint files. Allergan allegedly paid off physicians who reported access leaks.
3. During that time, Allergan also advertised, marketed and distributed Lap-Band for two procedures it had not received FDA approval for.
4. The federal government will receive $3.30 million from the settlement, while Maryland's Medicaid programs will receive $199,640. The whistleblowers also received a share of the settlement.
5. Allergan was not found liable for the allegations.
6. Allergan sold its Lap-Band product business to Apollo Endosurgery in 2013.