Former Advanced BioHealing exec Clawson pleads guilty in VA fraud case

Former Advanced BioHealing executive Todd Clawson last week pleaded guilty to federal charges that he bribed U.S. Veterans Affairs Dept. doctors to use the company’s DermaGraft biologic wound dressing.

Federal prosecutors accused Clawson, who left the company in 2012, of participating in a scheme to bribe VA physicians to use the DermaGraft diabetic foot ulcer treatment with a series of inducements including paid trips to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Def Leppard concert tickets, a fishing trip in Wyoming and junkets to Las Vegas, according to court documents.

Clawson, who’s due to be sentenced June 10, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal conflicts of interest, bribery and healthcare fraud.

Shire (NSDQ:SHPGY), which paid $750 million for Advanced BioHealing in June 2011, abandoned its pursuit of a venous leg ulcer indication for DermaGraft after a Phase III clinical trial failed to meet its primary endpoint.

A patent infringement lawsuit and a U.S. Justice Dept. probe followed, and by 2014, the Irish pharma giant had lost patience, dealing the company to 1 of its former rivals, Organogenesis, for just $300 million.

The post Former Advanced BioHealing exec Clawson pleads guilty in VA fraud case appeared first on MassDevice.

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