The U.S. filed a lawsuit against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, alleging the New York-based drugmaker of inflating Medicare reimbursement rates for Eylea, the Justice Department said.
Eylea is an injection therapy approved for retinal diseases. After the FDA approved the drug in August 2023, the drugmaker priced Eylea at $2,625 per single-use vial.
The lawsuit accuses Regeneron of submitting false average sales price reports to CMS by hiding price concessions, including credit card processing fees Regeneron allegedly paid to specialty drug distributors. Distributors would then charge a lower cash price for the medication while accepting credit cards so patients could receive credit card benefits, according to the complaint.
"We will not permit pharmaceutical companies to flout price reporting requirements to maintain high drug prices," Principal Deputy Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department's civil division, said in an April 10 news release.
Becker's has reached out to Regeneron for comment and will update this article if more information becomes available.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals faces three counts: two under the False Claims Act and another for unjust enrichment.