The U.S. Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit against Fresenius Medical (NYSE:FMS), which was accused of overcharging Medicare for kidney dialysis services.
The dismissal follows a federal appeals court’s decision to vacate a ruling against Fresenius, which had lost a $83 million verdict in a lower court.
"We are pleased to have this lengthy litigation successfully concluded," Fresenius Medical Care CEO Ben Lipps told Law360.com.
Germany-based Fresenius Medical Care’s kidney dialysis unit was accused of improperly billing Medicare for home dialysis supplies and equipment between 1999 and 2005, and the company was ordered to pay $83 million in damages.
The FDA began investigating Fresenius in June 2012 after more than 900 patients experienced heart attacks at the company’s internal dialysis centers. The dialysis website leaked a copy of an internal memo, which also detailed adverse events possibly associated with improper use of Fresenius’ Granuflo dialysis concentrate, including a possible 5-fold increase in heart-attack risk associated with the compound.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2012 said there was no evidence that Fresenius submitted false claims to Medicare and overturned the whistleblower suit brought by former employees.