German medical conglomerate Bayer will pay $97.5 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it paid kickbacks to medical suppliers to boost sales of its diabetes products.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that the settlement resolves an investigation into whether Bayer bribed 11 diabetic suppliers into switching patients to its products from competitors' offerings.
Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Bayer Healthcare makes electronic monitors and testing strips used to measure blood sugar levels. Bayer did not admit or deny any wrongdoing in the case, and a spokeswoman said the company is "satisfied that the issues in question have been resolved."
Justice Department officials said Bayer paid Liberty Medical Supply Inc., one of the largest diabetic suppliers, about $2.5 million to convert patients to Bayer supplies between 1998 and 2002. The kickbacks, disguised as payments for advertising, were based on how many patients Liberty successfully converted to Bayer supplies.
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