Cardinal Health pays $44 to settle DoJ case

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) said today it reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice, paying $44 million to clear up civil penalties related to a 2012 case with the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

With the settlement, the company said that all related governmental organizations “have agreed to take no further administrative or civil action on these and related matters.”

The case originally resulted in a 2-year suspension of the company’s registration to distribute controlled substances from its Lakeland, Fla.-based distribution center, Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health said.

“These agreements allow us to move forward and continue to focus on working with all participants in addressing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. To combat the scourge of opioid abuse successfully, this must be a collaborative effort that includes all parties — the regulators, who set and license supply; the manufacturers, who produce medications; the physicians, who treat patients and prescribe medications; and the pharmacists, who fill those prescriptions. Collectively, we must focus on combatting the ever-changing tactics employed by those determined to divert medications for illegitimate use. Cardinal Health is committed to working with both public and private partners to do our part and find solutions,” chief legal & compliance officer Craig Morford said in a press release.

Last month, Cardinal Health saw shares rise slightly after the prescription drug distributor met expectations on Wall Street with its 1st-quarter results, despite the company’s pharma segment profits falling by 19% compared to the same period last year.

The company posted profits of $309 million, or $1.24 per share, on sales of $32.0 billion for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line slide of -19% on sales growth of 14% compared with the same period last year.

Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.24, ahead of consensus on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $31.22 billion.

The post Cardinal Health pays $44 to settle DoJ case appeared first on MassDevice.

from MassDevice http://ift.tt/2htEtS1