Bristol-Myers Squibb reaches tentative deal to end long-running Medicaid rebate lawsuit

Lawsuits over Medicaid rebates are a fact of life in pharma, and in one particularly long-running case, Bristol-Myers Squibb stands accused of fiddling with its prices to lower payments. Now, after seven years in litigation, that lawsuit could be nearing an end. 

Bristol reached an “agreement in principle” in January to settle a 2013 whistleblower lawsuit accusing the company of manipulating the average manufacture price of its drugs in order to underpay Medicaid rebates between 2007 and 2016, according to an SEC filing.

BMS said the terms of the agreement, which were not disclosed, were pending negotiation. The company couldn’t “provide assurances that its efforts to reach a final settlement will be successful.”

If Bristol closes its agreement, it would put an end to a long-running whistleblower suit that once wrapped up multiple drugmakers but was later narrowed to target BMS alone. 

RELATED: Bristol-Myers Squibb must face whistleblower suit claiming underpaid Medicaid rebates