February 25, 2013 Contact: Whitney Ray Phone: (850) 245-0150

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, 46 other states and the federal government have reached a $48 million agreement with pharmaceutical company Healthpoint, Ltd. over allegations of misrepresenting the regulatory status of Xenaderm, an ointment used to treat skin conditions, and submitting false Medicaid claims. As part of the national settlement, Florida’s Medicaid program will receive nearly $900,000.

The settlement resolves allegations that Healthpoint marketed Xenaderm without Food and Drug Administration approval by modeling it on a pre-1962 drug that the FDA had never reviewed. According to the federal and state complaints, Healthpoint misrepresented the regulatory status of Xenaderm when it submitted quarterly reports to the government and, as a result, knowingly caused false claims to be submitted for Xenaderm to Medicaid programs.

The settlement is the result of joint litigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the U.S. Department of Justice and fifteen states, including the State of Florida.