Ex-Bristol-Myers Squibb official indicted for lying to feds

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A former senior vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) has been indicted for lying about a patent deal involving the blood-thinning drug Plavix, justice officials said Wednesday.

Andrew Bodnar faces up to five years in prison and a fine of more than 250,000 dollars if found guilty of lying to federal authorities.

In the indictment, the Department of Justice alleges that at a 2006 meeting, Bodnar reassured Canadian group Apotex Inc. that BMS "would not launch a generic version of Plavix if Apotex agreed to a settlement which would prevent Apotex from launching its Plavix generic until 2011."

At the time, BMS "was subject to a separate consent decree, for unrelated conduct, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)" that required...