The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of manipulating Medicare pricing by inflating the average sales price for its expensive and widely prescribed Eylea treatment for serious eye disease.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Department claimed the company failed for more than a decade to report how it paid “hundreds of millions of dollars” to subsidize Eylea purchases by reimbursing drug distributors for credit-card processing fees. The lawsuit contended Regeneron paid these fees so that distributors would accept credit card payments for Eylea purchases while still charging a lower, cash price for the drug.
The goal was for Regeneron’s customers — typically, retina and ophthalmic practices — to receive credit card benefits for their purchases, such as “cash back” and other credit card rewards, according to the lawsuit. From 2012 to 2021, Regeneron’s credit card fee reimbursements for Eylea purchases exceeded $250 million to just one of its several distributors.