Under the deal, Quest unit Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID) agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge of “misbranding” a test used by laboratories throughout the country to measure levels of parathyroid hormone.

 

“The American public has the right to expect medical device manufacturers to make accurate claims in their labeling, especially when the failure to meet those claims could indicate that the performance of the device is suspect,” said US Attorney Benton J. Campbell in a statement.

 

The settlement represents about 4 percent of the company’s revenue in 2008, which reached $7.25 billion.

 

A statement released by Quest read: “While the company disagrees with and does not admit to the government’s civil allegations, it agreed to the settlement to put the matter behind it.”

 

Moreover, Michael E. Prevoznik, Quest’s senior vice president and general counsel wanted to underline the fact that the company conducts its business with the highest standards of quality and integrity, and we regard NID’s failure to meet our standards as unacceptable. “This settlement resolves a five-year old government investigation, and puts it behind us. We are strongly committed to fulfilling the terms of the Corporate Integrity Agreement, and already have in place many of the agreement’s requirements.”