Novartis pushes back on chairman's 'inaccurate and inconsistent' comments undermining bribery settlement

Looking to walk away from its troubled past, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan gave the green light to a $628 million settlement in July to close a long-running DOJ kickback probe. Less than a year later, some in Novartis’ top ranks are already looking to rewrite history — but the company can’t exactly walk away from what it already admitted in court.

In an unusual statement this week, Novartis pushed back on comments from chairman Joerg Reinhardt claiming that Novartis never bribed doctors, even though the drugmaker admitted as much as part of its deal with the agency.