Takeda Agrees to Pay $13.6M to Resolve False Claims Allegations Relating to Improper Payments to Physicians

Press Releases

10/09/2026

Takeda Agrees to Pay $13.6M to Resolve False Claims Allegations Relating to Improper Payments to Physicians

(Hartford, CT)- Attorney General William Tong today announced that Connecticut joined a coalition of states and the federal government to settle allegations against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A., Inc. The settlement resolves allegations that the pharmaceutical company knowingly caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs by paying kickbacks to healthcare providers to include prescriptions of Trintellix, an antidepressant medication that Takeda marketed and sold to treat major depressive disorder.

Takeda, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Cambridge, Massachusetts, paid the federal government and states $13,670,921 in addition to accrued interest, of which $1,703,572 is allocated to the participating states' Medicaid programs. The portion of the settlement attributable to the Connecticut Medicaid program is $213,674.

"Takeda paid illegal kickbacks to doctors to boost prescriptions of their drug, undermining trust in our healthcare system and abusing public funds. In coordination with our state and federal partners, we will continue to aggressively pursue companies who break the law to line their pockets," said Attorney General Tong.

The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs. The statue is intended to ensure that the judgments of healthcare professionals are not compromised by improper financial incentives.

The national federal and state civil settlement resolves allegations that, from January 2014 to October 2020, Takeda paid improper remuneration, including in the form of speaker honoraria and meals at high-end restaurants, to healthcare professionals to induce them to prescribe the antidepressant medication Trintellix in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The States contend that Takeda selected certain healthcare providers to be part of the Trintellix speaker bureau and provided them with paid speaking opportunities with the intend that the speaker honoraria and meals would induce them to prescribe Trintellix. The States further contend that certain prescribers who attended multiple programs on the same topic and received meals and drinks from Takeda received no educational benefit from attending duplicate programs, in violation of state false claims statutes.

A National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) Team participated in the investigation and conducted settlement negotiations with Takeda on behalf of the states. The Team included representatives from the Offices of the Attorneys General for the states of California, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey.

Paralegal Specialist Orlean Woodham and Deputy Associate Attorney General Gregory O'Connell, Chief of the Government Fraud Section, assisted the Attorney General Tong in this matter.

###

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
[email protected]

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318
[email protected]

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Email
• Print