Roxane, Ben Venue units settle Medicaid fraud claims for $7.75M

Two Ohio-based units of German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim will contribute to a $7.75 million settlement with Wisconsin of claims they overcharged its Medicaid program for drugs, according to the Pharmalot blog.

The settlement by Roxane Laboratories in Columbus and Ben Venue Laboratories in Bedford — neither admitting wrongdoing or violation — was part of a larger lawsuit that charged 36 drugmakers with defrauding the Wisconsin Medicaid program, Pharmalot said.

The Roxane and Ben Venue units, which make generic drugs and have been expanding in Ohio, will pay the settlement along with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals of Ridgefield, Conn., according to the settlement agreement (pdf).

Late last month, Boehringer Ingelheim launched a $135 million venture fund to foster innovation in the life sciences. On Tuesday, Boehringer Ingelheim Chairman Andreas Barner told Bloomberg News that his company expects sales to be little changed and increased spending to weigh on earnings this year after reporting a 24 percent profit rise and a 9.7 percent sales gain in 2009.