United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy | U.S. Department of Justice
ASD Specialty Healthcare, LLC, operating as Besse Medical, has agreed to pay $1.67 million to settle allegations that it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute. The company was accused of providing inventory management systems to retina practices at no cost to induce them to purchase drugs from Besse.
The settlement requires ASD, headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, to accept responsibility for certain actions related to these allegations. In 2017, ASD acquired PODIS, an inventory management system tailored for retina practices dealing with high-cost injectable medications such as those treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Through November 2023, the company offered PODIS free of charge under "prime vendor agreements," which mandated purchasing a specified percentage of specialty drugs from ASD. Customers not entering these agreements were charged a monthly fee for PODIS access. Post-acquisition, ASD stopped providing PODIS access to non-ASD customers who had previously used it.
U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy emphasized that "pharmaceutical distributors cannot violate the law to gain a financial advantage." Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton noted that the case demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment to preserving federal health care programs' integrity by pursuing kickbacks throughout the distribution chain.
Special Agent Roberto Coviello from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General highlighted concerns about improper financial inducements affecting medical judgment and Medicare's integrity. Jodi Cohen from the FBI Boston Division stated this case underscores their commitment to tackling healthcare fraud.
The settlement also addresses claims under the False Claims Act brought by former employees of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., who will receive $250,705.20 from the settlement proceeds.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Levy and other officials involved in handling this matter, including representatives from various government agencies and legal departments.
