New York and 14 other states have filed a lawsuit alleging that Amgen offered doctors illegal kickbacks to increase sales of its blockbuster anemia drug. The multi-state case charges Thousand Oaks, California–based Amgen of overfilling vials of erythropoietin-stimulating agent Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) by 16–19% to provide medical practices with free product for which they could then bill insurers. An ex-employee turned whistleblower, who first filed a complaint in 2006, alleges that Amgen's sales force promoted the overfill and the revenue it would bring from third-party payers such as Medicaid. Drug wholesaler ASD Healthcare and drug-purchasing International Nephrology Network, both based in Frisco, Texas, are also named in the suit. The plaintiffs are requesting treble damages, which could amount to several billions of dollars; the defendants deny the charges. Wells Wilkinson, director of the Boston-based consumer watchdog Prescription Access Litigation, calls the scheme a creative variation on a widespread marketing tactic of inducing doctors to inflate drug prices on reimbursement. “Recent lawsuits have been seeking increasingly larger fines from drug companies,” he notes. “These are encouraging signs that the federal government is going to take a stronger stand against prescription drug fraud.” Until the penalties are sufficiently severe, companies will continue to use these types of “egregious” marketing ploys, he predicts.