ALEXANDRIA VA USA -- PHARMA UPDATE NEWS SERVICE^TM -- JANUARY 9, 2005: The Swiss-based Serono's $704 million settlement with US Department of Justice will be examined this week by HHS OIG Senior Counsel Mary Riordan, Assistant US Attorney Mary Elizabeth Carmody, qui tam counsel Robert Thomas, and former DOJ attorney Laurence Freedman.

The two-hour web conference on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 at 1:00 pm. The program is being hosted by Pharmaconference and sponsored by Rx Compliance Report.

In a special 30-minute segment, former DOJ attorneys Laurence Freedman and Laura Laemmle of Patton Boggs will highlight a number of important ongoing drug and device investigations that reflect the government's enforcement priorities.

Visit https://online-e-vents.com/Pharmaconferences.

The $567 million civil settlement, which addresses a broad range of illegal marketing schemes to promote Serostim, marks the largest civil False Claims Act pharmaceutical case to date.

"If you are going to be in the business of compliance, it is important to pay attention to the new cases as they come out," Assistant US Attorney James Sheehan recently said with respect to the Serono settlement, "because they have in some detail what the government felt was fraud and what the companies asked for releases on."

• Mary Elizabeth Carmody; Assistant US Attorney, US Dept of Justice, US Attorney's Office, Boston MA
• Lawrence J. Freedman; Partner, Patton Boggs, Former Assistant Director, US Dept of Justice, Fraud Section, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Washington DC
• Laura Laemmle, Partner, Patton Boggs, Former Trial Attorney, US Dept of Justice, Civil Litigation, Civil Division, Washington DC
• Mary E. Riordan, Sr., Counsel, DHHS Office of Inspector General, Washington DC
• Robert M. Thomas, Jr., Counsel to Relator Frank Garcia, Thomas & Associates, Boston, MA

• "Off label" promotion of Serostim
• Kickbacks to physicians and pharmacies
• Examination of the HHS OIG's corporate integrity agreement
• Implications of the Serono settlement for pharma

The 90-minute audioconference will be followed immediately by a special 30-minute segment -- at no additional cost -- where former DOJ attorneys Laurence Freedman and Laura Laemmle will highlight a dozen important ongoing investigations that pharma and medical device executives should closely watch in a special 30-minute segment.

Rx Compliance Report is the only news source devoted exclusively to the government's crackdown on pharmaceutical sales and marketing practices. This 12-page bi-weekly newsletter uncovers emerging investigations and offers practical firsthand advice on implementing effective compliance programs. Rx Compliance Report focuses on state and federal agencies leading these fraud and abuse investigations -- US Dept of Justice, HHS OIG, state Attorneys General, state Medicaid Fraud Control Units, SEC and FTC.

Visit https://online-e-vents.com/Pharmaconferences.