New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay up to $2.2 billion to settle U.S. investigations and lawsuits regarding its marketing practices for Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug, and other pharmaceuticals, according to a Bloomberg report.
The settlement includes a criminal penalty of up to $600 million and a misdemeanor plea. The settlement would also resolve claims that J&J paid kickbacks to Omnicare, a company that distributes drugs to nursing homes and would settle claims that J&J illegally marketing Natrecor, a heart-failure drug, and Invega, another antipsychotic medication, according to the report.
The government has been investigating the company's marketing practices for Risperdal since 2004. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 1993 for psychotic disorders including schizophrenia, but J&J allegedly marketed Risperdal for bipolar disorder, dementia, mood and anxiety disorders and other unapproved uses.
The agreement will not put an end to suits over Risperdal marketing filed by Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina, however. Judges or juries in those states have ordered J&J to pay a total of about $1.8 billion in damages. The company said it will appeal those judgments.
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The settlement includes a criminal penalty of up to $600 million and a misdemeanor plea. The settlement would also resolve claims that J&J paid kickbacks to Omnicare, a company that distributes drugs to nursing homes and would settle claims that J&J illegally marketing Natrecor, a heart-failure drug, and Invega, another antipsychotic medication, according to the report.
The government has been investigating the company's marketing practices for Risperdal since 2004. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 1993 for psychotic disorders including schizophrenia, but J&J allegedly marketed Risperdal for bipolar disorder, dementia, mood and anxiety disorders and other unapproved uses.
The agreement will not put an end to suits over Risperdal marketing filed by Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina, however. Judges or juries in those states have ordered J&J to pay a total of about $1.8 billion in damages. The company said it will appeal those judgments.
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