Dive Brief:
- Biocompatibles Inc, a subsidiary of specialty healthcare company BTG has agreed to pay $36 million to settle a Department of Justice probe involving marketing of LC Bead, its interventional medicine brand.
- The investigation began before BTG purchased Biocompatibles in January 2011, BTG said. No details of the marketing procedures that sparked the probe were released.
- Louise Makin, BTG’s CEO praised the settlement, saying the company can now move on to "deliver innovative therapies to improve people’s lives."
Dive Insight:
The Justice Department marketing probe involving LC Bead had been ongoing since July 2014. BTG noted the investigation "focused on the period pre-dating" BTG’s acquisition of Biocompatibles more than five years ago.
BTG is a specialist healthcare company that includes interventional medicine products to treat liver tumors, advanced emphysema, blood clots, varicose veins and other illnesses. The LC Bead is a visualization technology used in vascular and cancer treatment.
Biocompatibles has agreed to settle all allegations and consequently to pay a total penalty of $36 million, the company said. BTG is not required to enter into a corporate integrity agreement as part of the settlement.
"It’s good to resolve this legacy issue," said CEO Makin. "We understand our responsibilities to patients and healthcare providers and, in addition, to our robust ethics and compliance program, we strive to have a corporate culture where we do the right thing, every time."
Despite the shadow of the government probe, BTG continually touted the achievements of the LC Bead. In February, it announced "significant milestone" in collaboration with an imaging company in the treatment of a first liver cancer patient, using LC Bead LUMI technology targeting hypervascular tumor with a goal to block blood flow to achieve tumor necrosis. Two months later, in April, BTG said the technology and related therapies with LC Bead LUMI have the "potential to revolutionize treatment of hypervascular tumors and arteriovenous malfunctions."