Hawaii is one of many states suing biotechnology behemoth Amgen Inc. for allegedly giving kickbacks to medical providers to help boost sales of the anemia drug Aranesp.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif., company allegedly encouraged medical providers to bill third parties, including Medicaid, for Aranesp, which was available to them at no cost, according to the suit. The lawsuit also alleges that Amgen conspired to offer kickbacks, including nonexistent consultancy deals and weekend retreats, to boost prescriptions of Aranesp. Sales of the drug have been slipping for more than a year because of increased safety concerns and stricter safety warnings.

Amgen issued a statement in response to the suit saying, "We believe that the allegations are without merit, and we look forward to the opportunity to examine these matters with the states before the court."

Other states participating in the suit are California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia, along with the District of Columbia.

SALE OF HAWAII HURRICANE INSURER DONE

Kingsway Financial Services said it has completed the sale of Zephyr Insurance Co., Hawai'i's largest hurricane insurance company.

Toronto-based Kingsway announced last month that it had reached an agreement to sell Zephyr for $31.5 million to a group consisting of East Coast insurer Ocean Harbor Holding Inc. and MP Holdings LLC, a Honolulu-based firm linked to the MacNaughton Group.

The sale comes about four years after Kingsway bought Zephyr, which provides hurricane coverage to more than 70,000 clients in Hawai'i.

Zephyr is based in Honolulu and employs 17 staffers who will be retained in the purchase.

During the first half of the year, Zephyr had gross premiums written of $36 million. Kingsway said it expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter pending regulatory approval.

FEDERAL GRANTS TO HELP UH AG RESEARCH

The University of Hawai'i is getting two grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for organic farming.

The department says the grants totaling nearly $90,000 will be used to help fund research, education and extension projects in organic agriculture. The University of Guam received a $372,000 grant.

The funding is part of $19 million in grants Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced yesterday. She said organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture.