Judge Refuses to Dismiss False Claims Act Suit Against Drug Maker

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit accusing Scios Inc. of defrauding Medicare by marketing its heart failure drug for off-label uses, ruling that the claims were pleaded with the requisite particularity. Strom ex rel. v. Scios Inc., et al., No. 05-3004 (N.D. Calif.).

On Dec. 23, Judge Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the complaint sufficiently alleges that the drug maker's misrepresentation of scientific evidence caused doctors to submit claims for treatment that were not "reasonable and necessary."

Scios developed a drug called …