MiMedx Group, a Marietta, Ga.-based biopharmaceutical company that is a major supplier to government-run hospitals, allegedly left cheaper products out of its offerings to Veterans Affairs hospitals across the nation, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are six things to know:
1. MiMedx manufactures skin grafts and injectable products from donated amniotic tissues. It had a closerelationship with VA hospitals and those hospitals run by the Defense Department. In 2015, the most recent year that broke down reported sales, 26 percent of MiMedx's revenues came from federal sales.
2. The company's practices are under investigation by the Justice Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
3. According to former employees and company products lists, MiMedx limited wound treatment products available to federal buyers, which forced the government to buy more expensive products.
4. Federal customers allegedly received a different set of product offerings than private hospitals and physician offices. For example, to treat the smallest wounds, MiMedx offered VA hospitals a 16-millimeter disk-shaped EpiFix graft. Private hospitals were offered a 14-millimeter disk. The 16-millimeter disk cost $895, whereas the 14-millimeter disk was $313.
5. A similar example occurs with the MiMedx's EpiFix injectable treatment. The smallest size federal hospitals could obtain was 40 milligrams, costing $725. Private hospitals were offered a 20-milligram unit of EpiFix for $225, according to internal documents reviewed by the
6. The l company has also faced scrutiny of its relationships with healthcare providers at VA hospitals. In September, a grand jury heard arguments in a case suggesting MiMedx and a surgeon at Augusta, Ga.-based Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon had financial ties.
Read the full report here.