Public Citizen, a watchdog group has found that the pharmaceutical drug industry is now the biggest defrauder of the federal government. More than half of the $20B in penalties paid out for violating the False Claim Act were from four companies: GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Schering-Plough.
Amy Goodman speaks with Dr Sidney Wolfe, author of a report detailing the excesses and fraud that permeates the pharmaceutical industry.
DR. SIDNEY WOLFE: In 1863, even back then, the defense industry was defrauding the federal government in contracts during the Civil War. They passed something called the False Claims Act back in 1863. And up until very recently, the number one defrauder has been the industry that caused the law to be passed in the first place: the defense industry. But back in the last decade or so, slowly, but surely, the defense industry has been overrun, so to speak, by the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, it’s overrun all the other industries that have claims paid under the False Claims Act.
