Johnson & Johnson said Thursday it would pay $181 million to end claims by 36 states over its marketing of the blockbuster antipsychotic drug Risperdal.
But what exactly is J&J accused of? In the U.S., it's perfectly fine for doctors to prescribe medicine for uses not approved by the FDA – but it's illegal for drug companies to tout their wares for off-label uses.
Here's what J&J is accused of, according to a complaint filed by Hawaii, which is one of the 36 settling states. The complaint is courtesy of Courthouse News Service:
- The complaint says the FDA has only approved of Risperdal for various forms of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.
- J&J is accused of aggressively promoting Risperdal for unapproved uses, such as treating dementia in the elderly, anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
- These marketing tactics allegedly included rewarding doctors who prescribed the drug for off-label uses with lucrative consulting gigs.
- J&J is also accused of deploying a special "Eldercare" sales force just to peddle the drug for treating dementia in the elderly – something the FDA never approved it for.
For its part, J&J says it's not admitting any wrongdoing and just struck the deal with the 36 states to ensure a "prompt" resolution of the case.
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