Texas AG sues Sanofi for allegedly paying bribes to doctors Texas Attorney General sues Sanofi for allegedly paying bribes to doctors to prescribe its drugs

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit accusing Sanofi of offering kickbacks to doctors, in the form of a free network of nurses and insurance services, to increase prescriptions for its drugs.

In doing so, the drugmaker would help manage key aspects of patient care that a doctor would otherwise have to manage or pay staff to carry out. This reduces the doctor’s workload, which constitutes a “powerful and inappropriate incentive to prescribe [Sanofi] drugs compared to competing therapies,” according to the lawsuit.

Additionally, some Sanofi drugs are used to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, hemophilia and autoimmune diseases, meaning the alleged kickback scheme generated years of revenue for the company even though its drugs are not the best option for patients, Paxton argued in the lawsuit.