The acquittal last week of a former pharmaceutical executive, charged in a kickbacks scheme to win business from doctors, could prove a boon for a pair of medical device executives facing similar charges.
A jury in Massachusetts federal court cleared former Warner Chilcott pharmaceutical president Carl Reichel of charges that he coach sales reps to woo doctors by taking them to expensive dinners and paying them fees for medical-education speeches, according to news reports.
Allergan, which acquired Warner Chilcott in 2013 after the wrongdoing alleged from 2009 to 2011, paid $125 million last October to settle a U.S. Justice Dept. probe and pleaded guilty a criminal healthcare fraud charge; a trio of Warner Chilcott managers also pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud charges, according to the reports.
