Looking beyond Protropin kickback allegation

Federal charges alleging that a Genentech Inc. executive participated in payment of $1.1 million in kickbacks to a pediatric endocrinologist leave open for the moment the question of how the executive could have used $224,000 in GNE funds to induce the physician to prescribe Protropin human growth hormone.

The federal grand jury indictment in Minneapolis last week charged Caremark Inc., Caremark Vice Presidents James Mieszala and Joseph Herring; former Caremark General Manager Judy Giel; Edmon Jennings, vice president for sales and marketing at GNE; and endocrinologist David Brown. ...