According to a DoJ press release, the San Francisco-based pharmaceutical distributor has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve FCA allegations.  Terrell Fox, a former finance director at McKesson, filed the suit in 2012 under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  He alleges that McKesson improperly set temperature monitors used in the shipping of vaccines thus failing to comply with the requirements of its contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Ensuring the integrity and performance of government contracts is paramount, especially when they impact programs intended to protect young children,” said Derrick L. Jackson, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – OFfice of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) in Atlanta.

The CDC has stated that the temperature monitors provided a secondary safeguard.  Other measures were and are taken to ensure that the vaccines are kept at appropriate temperatures during shipping.

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