U.S. sues Novartis, alleging kickbacks to pharmacies

By Bernard Vaughan and Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - The U.S. government filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis AG on Tuesday, accusing a unit of the Swiss drug maker of causing the Medicare and Medicaid programs to pay tens of millions of dollars in reimbursements based on fraudulent, kickback-tainted claims.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp had since 2005 induced at least 20 pharmacies to switch thousands of kidney transplant patients to its immunosuppressant drug Myfortic from competitors' drugs, in exchange for kickbacks disguised as rebates and discounts.

He said Novartis tried to conceal the scheme by omitting the agreements from rebate and discount contracts with pharmacies.

In one alleged case, Novartis offered a Los Angeles pharmacist a "bonus" rebate of 5 percent of that pharmacist's annual Myfortic sales, or several hundred thousand dollars, to switch as many as 1,000 patients to Myfortic.

"Novartis co-opted the independence of certain pharmacists and turned them into salespeople," Bharara said in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and seeks civil penalties and triple damages from Novartis for violating the federal False Claims Act.

Novartis spokeswoman Julie Masow had no immediate comment.

Myfortic net sales totaled $579 million in 2012, up 12 percent from a year earlier, according to Novartis' annual report. The Novartis Pharmaceuticals unit has offices in East Hanover, New Jersey.

In his announcement, Bharara called Novartis a "repeat offender," referring to a settlement of health care fraud charges based on kickbacks less than three years ago.

Novartis in September 2010 agreed to pay $422.5 million to resolve criminal and civil liability over its marketing of several drugs, including the epilepsy drug Trileptal. (http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/September/10-civ-1102.html)

The case is U.S. v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-08196.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Bernard Vaughan in New York; Editing by Gary Hill and David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-sues-novartis-over-alleged-fraudulent-kickbacks-205628061--finance.html

Human Rights Campaign amanda knox bioshock infinite smokey robinson smokey robinson kellie pickler USA VS Mexico

Workplace stress poses risk to health

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Stressful situations at work can have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system and the metabolism. Stress, which is transmitted by direct and indirect signaling pathways, leads to an inflammatory response in the body, which can trigger cardiovascular diseases, amongst others.

These results, which were achieved by scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum M?nchen following their evaluation of data from a population-based cohort study, were published in the specialist journals Brain, Behavior, and Immunity and Psychosomatic Medicine.

The study is based on a long-term observation of more than 950 people as part of the population-based cohort study MONICA/KORA. The work was conducted by Dr. Rebecca Emeny as part of the Mental Health working group headed by Prof. Karl-Heinz Ladwig, Institute of Epidemiology II (EPI II) at the Helmholtz Zentrum M?nchen (HMGU). Data was analyzed from questionnaires on psychological stress at work and concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers in the blood. The results showed that healthy workers who were exposed to stress at work displayed significantly elevated inflammatory parameters and faced twice the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

More than half of the participants in the study stated that they experienced psychological strain and stress at work. Stress is regarded as a cardiovascular risk factor. Its consequences are communicated directly via activated messenger substances as well as indirectly via unhealthy stress-related behavior. In particular, the scientists found a clear association between stress and elevated concentrations of CRP (C-reactive protein), which is an inflammatory marker, and were thus able to demonstrate a stress-related inflammatory reaction in the body. Moreover, job stress led to harmful psychological effects such as depression and sleep disturbances as well as to unhealthy behavior, for example, physical inactivity. Doing sports regularly, for at least one hour per week, significantly reduced inflammatory activity. However, the differences in terms of health risks between people who suffered from work stress and those who did not still remained.

With their analysis, the scientists at HMGU have made a substantial contribution towards a deeper understanding of stress-related responses in the body. "The insights gained from this study form important starting points for finding preventive measures that will protect against stress-related diseases such as coronary heart disease," says Dr. Emeny, first author of the study.

Environmental factors and lifestyle play a major role in the development of common diseases in Germany such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. The aim of the Helmholtz Zentrum M?nchen is to develop new approaches for the diagnosis, therapy and prevention of the most common diseases.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen - German Research Centre for Environmental Health.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal References:

1. Rebecca Emeny, Marie-Elena Lacruz, Jens Baumert, Astrid Zierer, Alexander von Eisenhart Rothe, Christine Autenrieth, Christian Herder, Wolfgang Koenig, Barbara Thorand, Karl-Heinz Ladwig. Job strain associated CRP is mediated by leisure time physical activity: Results from the MONICA/KORA study. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2012; 26 (7): 1077 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.07.004
2. Emeny, R.T. et al. Contributions of Job Strain and 9 Emerging Biomarkers of Coronary Events in Healthy Workers: the MONICA/KORA Augsburg Case-Cohort. Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(3):317-25

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/uVpg6C8YPCY/130423090940.htm

new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin october baby sugarland 16 and pregnant

Drop in gas prices benefits US drivers, economy

NEW YORK (AP) ? A sharp decline in the price of oil this month is making gasoline cheaper at a time of year when it typically gets more expensive. It's a relief to motorists and business owners and a positive development for the economy.

Over the past three weeks, the price of oil has fallen by 9 percent to $89 a barrel. That has helped extend a slide in gasoline prices that began in late February. Nationwide, average retail prices have fallen by 27 cents per gallon, or 7 percent, since Feb. 27, to $3.52 per gallon. Analysts say pump prices could fall another 20 cents over the next two months.

The price of oil is being driven lower by rising global supplies and lower-than-expected demand in the world's two largest economies, the United States and China. As oil and gasoline become more affordable, the economy benefits because goods become less expensive to transport and motorists have more money to spend on other things. Over the course of a year, a decline of 10 cents per gallon translates to $13 billion in savings at the pump.

Diesel and jet fuel have also gotten cheaper in recent weeks, which is good news for truckers, airlines and other energy-intensive businesses.

"It makes a big difference to my bottom line," says Mike Mitternight, owner of a heating and air conditioning service company in Metairie, La. He has five pickup trucks that can burn $1,000 of gas per week when prices are near $4 a gallon. Lately he's been paying as little as $3.19, and saving $200 a week.

Gasoline prices typically rise in the late winter and spring as refiners shut down parts of their plants to perform maintenance and begin making more costly blends of gasoline required by federal clean-air regulations. The trend was earlier and less dramatic this year. Pump prices only came within 15 cents of last year's peak.

Oil production is growing quickly in the U.S. and Canada, helping boost global supplies. And some of the factors that pushed prices higher the two previous years ? political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East and refinery disruptions in the U.S. ? haven't materialized this spring.

At the same time, demand for fuels is growing slower than expected. China, the world's biggest oil importer, is experiencing slower-than-expected economic growth. And much of Europe is in recession.

In the U.S., wintry weather in the Midwest and Northeast has kept more drivers off the roads this spring, analysts say.

The typical U.S. household will spend an estimated $326 on gasoline this April, the equivalent of 7.8 percent of median household income, according to Fred Rozell, an analyst at GasBuddy.com. That's $38 less than last April, when households spent 8.8 percent of their income on gas.

"It's the difference between going out to dinner one more time or not," says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "It matters."

The U.S. government releases its initial estimate of economic output during the first three months of 2013 on Friday. Economists forecast the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent, compared with 0.4 percent in the final three months of 2012.

Philip Verleger, an economist who studies energy prices, says that many monthly household expenses are fixed, but gasoline is one of the few big expenses that varies. That means when gasoline prices rise ? or fall ? people notice.

"This is the equivalent of a pay raise," he says.

Shippers and airlines are also benefiting. Fuel is by far airlines' biggest and most volatile cost. A one-cent decline in the price of jet fuel saves the U.S. airline industry $180 million over a year, according to the industry group Airlines for America. Lower energy prices also give potential customers more money to spend on air travel.

Airlines aren't ready to celebrate yet because the relief could prove to be short-lived, says John Heimlich, chief economist at Airlines for America. "It looks promising but we're not counting our chickens," he said.

Political turmoil or refinery problems could crop up at any time. Analysts are particularly worried about the transition of power in Venezuela, a major oil exporter, after the death of President Hugo Chavez. Violence has erupted in the wake of a closely contested election, and the financial situation of the country is precarious. Analysts worry that the country's oil production could slip.

Also, refinery maintenance in the Midwest is already affecting prices there. Drivers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana are paying only slightly less than they did last year at this time, and prices there have been creeping up over the last couple of weeks.

Gasoline prices reached a high this year of $3.79 per gallon on Feb. 27. Last year's peak was $3.94, and it came on April 6; last year's low was $3.22 on Dec. 20. The average price for all of 2012 was $3.63 per gallon. The Energy Department forecasts the 2013 average will be $3.56.

Analysts say there are limits to how far oil and gasoline prices will fall. Countries in the developing world are still growing fast and pushing world oil demand higher, perhaps to a record this year. And if oil prices fall too far drillers will be forced to cut production to try to stem the decline.

That means Mike Mitternight, the small business owner in Louisiana, won't likely get his wish: He'd like to see gasoline prices between $2 and $3 per gallon.

"I still think it's high and we could bring it lower," he says.

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/drop-gas-prices-benefits-us-drivers-economy-185923507.html

toysrus how to carve a turkey ipad 2 wal mart happy thanksgiving Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade 2012 Turkey Cooking Times

Deal of the Day ? Dell XPS 14 Core i5 Ultrabook with Gorilla Glass and 900p display

Tuesday’s LogicBUY Deal is the?14″ Dell XPS 14 “Ivy Bridge” Core i5 Ultrabook starting at?$739.99. ?Features: Core i5-3317U 4GB RAM 500GB hard drive, 32GB mSATA SSD, 3-in-1 card reader Bonded Gorilla Glass 14″ HD+ 900p display, 400-nit brightness,?Intel HD 4000 graphics Waves MaxxAudio 4 miniDisplayport, HDMI, two USB 3.0 ports $1099.99 – $300 instant savings [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/23/deal-of-the-day-dell-xps-14-core-i5-ultrabook-with-gorilla-glass-and-900p-display/

adam shulman peanut butter recall jason aldean Brigitte Nielsen Cricinfo Geno Smith ny giants

Lower coal prices dent Teck profit

(Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd , Canada's largest diversified miner, reported a 40 percent fall in first-quarter adjusted profit due to lower coal prices, and said economic uncertainty may affect prices and shipments.

On an adjusted basis, the company's earnings fell to C$328 million ($319 million), or 56 Canadian cents per share, from C$544 million, or 93 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue from operations fell about 9 percent to C$2.33 billion. Coal revenue fell by C$138 million as a result of significantly lower coal prices.

Coal prices were down 28 percent from a year ago at $161 per tonne, while copper was down 5 percent, Teck said.

Teck warned in February that demand for coal would be soft through at least the first half of 2013. The company said economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States, along with lower growth rates in emerging markets was hitting demand for its products.

Coal production of 6.2 million tonnes in the first quarter was largely unchanged from a year ago.

The company said it continues to experience volatile markets for its products. It expects total coal sales in the second quarter, including spot sales, to be at or above 6.0 million tonnes.

Teck plans to produce around 24.5 million tonnes of the metallurgical coal in 2013 and 350,000 tonnes of copper.

Net profit attributable to shareholders rose to C$319 million, or 55 Canadian cents per share, from C$258 million, or 44 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. Profit last year was affected by a $329 million after-tax charge related to the refinancing of a portion of its debt.

($1 = 1.0269 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Editing by Robin Paxton, Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lower-coal-prices-dent-teck-profit-103336611--finance.html

associated press foster friess new orleans hornets ghost rider spirit of vengeance hornets prince johan friso windows 8 logo

Israeli focus on Syria gives Hagel respite on Iran

JERUSALEM (AP) ? On Chuck Hagel's inaugural visit to Israel as U.S. defense secretary, Syria surpassed Iran as the security threat of greatest urgency to the U.S.' closest Mideast ally. That quite unexpectedly gave the new Pentagon chief a temporary respite from the delicate duty of tempering Israeli warnings about attacking Iran to stop it from building a nuclear bomb.

Israeli leaders see Iran's nuclear ambitions as a threat to their country's very existence, given Tehran's vow to wipe it off the map. But Syria suddenly has emerged so prominently that it overshadowed Iran during Hagel's three days in Israel.

That explains, in part, why Hagel repeatedly stressed in public Israel's right to defend itself and to decide on its own, if necessary, whether and when to attack Iran. He gave less emphasis than usual by American officials to Washington's wish that diplomacy and sanctions be given more time to persuade Iran to change course.

Notably, Israel's new defense minister, Moshe Yaalon, said at a joint news conference with Hagel on Monday that he, too, thinks non-military means ought to be pursued further.

"By one way or another, the military nuclear project of Iran should be stopped," Yaalon said. "Having said that, we believe that the military option, which is well discussed, should be the last resort anyhow. " He added, "There are other tools to be used and to be exhausted, whether it is diplomacy, economic sanctions, or even more support of the opposition in Iran."

Hagel seemed to sense slightly less urgency in the Israeli concern about Iran, although he by no means dismissed the problem. One year ago, Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, was letting it be known that he feared Israel could attack Iran in a matter of weeks. Washington worries that such a strike could ignite a wider war in which it would be difficult for the U.S. to avoid getting involved.

That was before the Syrian civil war had reached the point of widespread concern that its illicit stockpiles of chemical weapons could pose a threat to Israel and other neighbors. Jordan, too, is worried about transfers of Syrian chemical weapons. Hagel stopped briefly in Jordan Tuesday and ended his day in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"The United States and Jordan share mutual concerns about the ongoing crisis in Syria and continue to consult closely on a number of issues including chemical weapons and the demands posed by the influx of Syrian refugees fleeing the violence," Pentagon press secretary George Little said after Hagel's meeting in Amman.

Little said the Pentagon has provided more than $70 million to Jordan this year to help secure its border and prevent the transfer of chemical weapons from Syria.

The Israelis see immediate dangers in the Syrian civil war, not only in the threat along Israel's northeastern border but also in the grim possibility that Syrian chemical weapons could fall into the hands of extremists. Israel says each of those possibilities is a "red line" beyond which it would have to act.

The concern is that if President Bashar Assad is overthrown, any of the Islamic extremist groups trying to oust him could turn his extensive arsenal against Israel.

A senior Israeli military intelligence official said Tuesday that Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons against insurgent groups. It was the first such public claim by Israel and appeared to increase pressure on Washington and other Western countries to intervene in Syria.

President Barack Obama has warned that the use of chemical weapons by Assad would be a "game changer." Little, the Pentagon press secretary, said Tuesday the U.S. government is still assessing reports of Syrian chemical weapons use, adding that such acts would be "entirely unacceptable." He did not elaborate on possible U.S. actions.

The White House said Tuesday the U.S. hasn't yet come to the conclusion that Assad has used chemical weapons even though close U.S. allies say he has.

In his assessment, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, the head of research and analysis in Israeli military intelligence, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that Assad has used chemical weapons multiple times, including near Damascus, the capital, last month.

During Hagel's visit, Israeli leaders still emphasized the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran ? as did Hagel. But to a degree not foreseen when Hagel arrived in Israel over the weekend, the threat posed by Syria's chemical weapons overshadowed Iran.

Hagel wrapped up his visit Tuesday by meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who greeted him with a brief but pointed caution about resolving the Iran problem. He complained of Iran arming terrorist groups with sophisticated weapons, and its "attempt to arm itself with nuclear weapons."

"This is a challenge that Israel cannot accept, and as you and President Obama have repeatedly said, Israel must be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat," Netanyahu said.

___

Associated Press writer Ariel David contributed to this report.

Robert Burns can be followed on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-focus-syria-gives-hagel-respite-iran-190331708--politics.html

Super Bowl 2013 Ray Rice sodastream dan marino godaddy did the groundhog see his shadow Ray Lewis Murder

Akamai: Average U.S. Internet Speed Up 28% YoY, Now At 7.4 Mbps, But South Korea, Japan And Hong Kong Still Far Ahead

Akamai published its quarterly “State of the Internet” report for the last quarter of 2012 today. The report, as usual, looks at global Internet speeds, as well as the state of Internet security, the number if IPv4 numbers in use and other similar metrics. Internet speeds, of course, are the most interesting numbers for users in this report. South Korea has long been in the lead in this category, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Interestingly, though, the average Internet speed in South Korea has slowed down a bit lately. At an average speed of 14 Mbps, South Korean Internet users now surf 4.8 percent slower than last quarter and 13 percent slower than a year ago. In the U.S., Akamai found, the average connection now clocks in at 7.4 Mbps. That’s up a respectable 28 percent year-over-year and 2.3?percent since last quarter and enough to rank the U.S. No. 8 on Akamai’s list. Currently, about 19?percent of U.S. Internet connections deliver speeds over 10 Mbps+ connections. It’s encouraging to see that this number increased 90?percent since last year, though growth in this metric seems to have stalled a bit, as the U.S. only registered a low 5.5?percent increase since last quarter. Overall, the 10 countries with the fastest connections saw relatively minor speed increases over the last quarter, ranging from just 0.1?percent in the Netherlands to 7.4?percent in Sweden. Globally, though, the average connection speed grew by 25?percent year-over-year. The only country to see a major dip in speeds since the last quarter was Guatemala (39?percent). As for mobile connectivity, Akamai reports that its partner Ericsson found that mobile data traffic around the world grew 28?percent in the last quarter alone and doubled year-over-year. Android and Apple’s Mobile Safari are almost even here when it comes to connections over cellular networks (35.3?percent vs. 32.6?percent), but taking all connections into account (that is, including Wi-Fi), Apple accounts for 58.7?percent of requests compared to 21.7?percent for Android Webkit. In this quarter’s report, Akamai is also taking a closer look at DDoS attacks. The company says its own customers reported 768 attacks in 2012, a 200?percent year-over-year increase. While this is not necessarily representative of the Internet as a whole, it’s yet another indication that the number of these attacks across the Interent continues to increase.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yJjdAQ7A8qw/

lindsey vonn nit first day of spring Club Penguin Espn Bracket First Day Of Spring 2013 Suki Waterhouse