
CareFusion (NYSE:CFN) agreed to pay $41 million to settle a 2-year federal probe into the sales and marketing of its ChloraPrep line of antiseptic wipes.
The deal will help the San Diego, Calif.-based medical device company avoid prosecution and resolve the investigation, which launched in 2011 to investigate how CareFusion marketed the ChloraPrep skin preparation products to physicians and other healthcare workers.
CareFusion said it plans to record the charge during the 3rd quarter of its fiscal year.
"We are pleased to have reached this important milestone as we continue to build our foundation for future growth,” chairman & CEO Kieran Gallahue said in prepared remarks. “Since our spinoff, we have made significant investments to improve our quality systems, including our sales and marketing practices, and we remain committed to adhering to the highest standards.”
The probe began when CareFusion received a U.S. Justice Dept. subpoena in April 2011, seeking information on the company’s "relationships with healthcare professionals," according to regulatory filings. Two more subpoenas were subsequently issued in association with the investigation, according to the filings, 1 in September 2011 by the U.S. Dept. Health & Human Services’ inspector general and another from the DoJ in August 2012.
Last week, the FDA classified the recall of CareFusion’s Alaris PC software as Class I, the federal watchdog agency’s most serious recall level, denoting the risk of serious injury or death. It’s the latest in a series of regulatory warnings and recalls for some of the Alaris infusion pump line, designed to electronically control drug and fluid delivery to patients.