Fagron to pay $22.5 million to settle U.S. allegations over inflated drug prices

[November 08, 2019]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pharmaceutical supplier Fagron Holding USA LLC will pay $22.5 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiaries inflated average wholesale prices for compound drug ingredients and submitted fraudulent claims to federal healthcare programs, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The settlement will resolve legal actions filed against Fagron units Freedom Pharmaceuticals, B&B pharmaceuticals and Pharmacy Services Inc, the department said in a statement.

Fagron Holding is owned by Belgium's Fagron NV.

In a statement Fagron said it had already provided for the payment in its results for the first half of 2019 and said that the agreement "does not contain an admission of wrongdoing, fault or liability of any kind by Fagron."

"With this settlement, all ongoing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice against Fagron and its subsidiaries will be terminated and there will be no further exposure and associated costs for Fagron," the company said.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Tim Ahmann and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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