The McKesson Corp., one of the nation's largest distributors of pharmaceutical drugs, will pay $13.25 million in civil penalties for alleged violations of its obligations under the Controlled Substances Act.
The San Francisco-based company reportedly violated federal reporting provisions relating to its handling of certain prescription medications regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Three of McKesson's 30 distribution centers received and filled hundreds of suspicious orders placed by pharmacies participating in illicit Internet schemes but failed to report the orders to DEA, investigators said. They did so even after a Sept. 1, 2005 meeting at which DEA officials warned McKesson officials about excessive sales of their products to pharmacies filling illegal online prescriptions, according to the Justice Department. Every DEA registrant is required to report to DEA any suspicious orders or the theft or significant loss of controlled substances.
"By failing to report suspicious orders for controlled substances that it received from rogue Internet pharmacies, the McKesson Corp. fueled the explosive prescription drug abuse problem we have in this country," said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. "This civil penalty demonstrates the strong action DEA is taking to cut off the drug supply to pharmacies engaged in Internet diversion schemes."
The pharmacies filled purported online "prescriptions" for hydrocodone, but the prescriptions were issued outside the normal course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, officials said.
The United States Attorneys allege that the orders McKesson received from the pharmacies were unusually large, unusually frequent and/or deviated substantially from the normal pattern. As a result, millions of dosage units of controlled substances were diverted from legitimate channels of distribution, they said.
The Controlled Substances Act is the primary federal law regulating the flow of controlled substances into the marketplace for medical purposes. Among other requirements, the act requires that distributors register with DEA to sell controlled substances to retail pharmacies and report to DEA suspicious orders or the theft or significant loss of controlled substances. The act authorizes up to a $10,000 civil penalty for each violation of the reporting requirement.
The civil penalty will be collected by the U.S. Attorney's Office in each of the following districts, in the amounts indicated: Middle District of Florida, $7.456 million; District of Maryland, $2 million; District of Colorado, $1 million; Southern District of Texas, $2 million; District of Utah, $ 544,000; and the Eastern District of California, $ 250,000.
"The abuse of prescription medications is a significant and growing problem, and there is an erroneous perception among our youth that the recreational use of these powerful medications is somehow safer than the abuse of illegal drugs such as cocaine, meth and heroin," said Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip. "Today's settlement makes clear that the Department of Justice is committed to doing its part to curtail illegal access to these dangerous drugs."