A federal judge tossed out whistleblower lawsuits alleging that pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Bayer used nurses to illegally boost sales of various prescription drugs in a kickback scheme.

Mallinckrodt Plc tentatively agreed to pay $15.4 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department probe into how a drugmaker that the company now owns marketed an expensive treatment for a rare infant seizure disorder and multiple sclerosis.