Mississippi to receive$162.2K of $59.7M Settlement Over Alleged Biohaven Kickbacks

JACKSON, Miss. – Attorney General Lynn Fitch has announced that Mississippi has joined 37 other States and Puerto Rico in settling kickback allegations against Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd., a subsidiary wholly owned by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc.

Pfizer has agreed to pay, on behalf of Biohaven, $59,746,277.54, plus interest, to resolve allegations that Biohaven knowingly submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to the Medicaid program and other federal healthcare programs by paying kickbacks to health care providers in the form of cash, lavish meals, and honoraria payments to induce them to prescribe Biohaven’s product, Nurtec ODT, a prescription medication for the treatment of migraine headaches.

“Taxpayers who fund Medicaid should be able to count on the program’s soundness,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “And its beneficiaries should be able to depend on honest and fair medical advice from their healthcare providers. My office is dedicated to protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program and ensuring that Mississippians receive the services they need.”

The settlement resolves allegations that from March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2022, Biohaven paid kickbacks to providers to present at speaker programs to induce them to prescribe Nurtec for Medicaid and other federal healthcare beneficiaries, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), 42 U.S.C. § 1320a- 7b(b). Biohaven paid some providers tens of thousands of dollars, and as much as a hundred thousand dollars, for these speaker programs. In numerous instances, speaker programs were also attended by individuals such as the speaker’s spouse, family members and friends, who had no educational need to attend. Also, certain providers who attended multiple programs on the same topic, and received expensive meals and drinks paid for by Biohaven, received no educational benefit from attending these programs. 

As part of the settlement, the State of Mississippi will receive $162,204.59 in restitution and other recoveries. The case against Biohaven was initiated by a whistleblower, Patricia Frattasio, a former employee of Biohaven. The allegations were investigated in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office in New York, and the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant totaling $4,001,713.00 for Federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,333,904.00, is funded by the State of Mississippi.