UPDATE 1-Sanofi-Aventis settles US claims case for $190 mln

(Adds details of settlement, comment from Sanofi-Aventis)

WASHINGTON, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. subsidiary of drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) has paid about $190 million to federal and state governments to settle charges that it overcharged Medicare for an anti-nausea drug, the Justice Department said on Monday.

Aventis Pharmaceuticals, now known as Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc, agreed to make the payment to resolve allegations that the company artificially inflated the price the Medicare program paid for Anzemet, a drug used to prevent nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing radiation treatment, the department said.

The department said Aventis increased the cost of Medicare reimbursement for Anzemet by inflating the reported price for the drug, which are used to set reimbursement rates.

The department said Aventis used the extra proceeds to promote Anzemet.

Sanofi-Aventis issued a statement saying it had admitted no wrongdoing, and the government charges covered a period before Sanofi-Aventis was created by Sanofi-Synthelabo purchasing Aventis Pharmaceuticals in 2004.

"The total amount of the settlement is fully covered by existing reserves," Sanofi-Aventis said.

The investigation stems from a whistleblower lawsuit by a Florida health care company called Ven-A-Care, which could receive about $32 million of the settlement under U.S. law, the department said.

(Reporting by Peter Kaplan)

((Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Tim Dobbyn; Reuters Messaging: peter.kaplan.reuters.com@reuters.net; email: peter.kaplan@reuters.com; +1 202 898 8463, fax: +1 202 898 8383))

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