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Risperdal litigation costs growing for Johnson & Johnson

The legal bill for Johnson & Johnson seems to be growing after Friday's announcement that it has set aside an extra $600 million to deal with litigation, much of it related to allegations of illegal marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

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Risperdal litigation costs growing for Johnson & Johnson

POSTED: Monday, June 11, 2012, 6:35 AM

David Sell

J&J said last year in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was being investigated by the Justice Department.

The Friday filing with the SEC is here. The company reported in its fourth-quarter filing for 2011 that it had set aside $1.1 billion for such costs. That link is here.

The federal investigation involves Risperdal, another antipsychotic drug Invega, a heart-failure drug Natrecor and allegations of kickbacks to Omnicare, Inc. Omnicare is a nursing home pharmacy company and J&J is alleged to have paid Omnicare to prescribe Risperdal to nursing home patients.

Bloomberg News reported Monday that the settlement figure has risen to $2.2 billion, citing two anonymous sources. The Bloomberg story is here.

If that figure holds, it would be second-largest financial penalty in the off-label drug promotion category. In 2009, Pfizer settled for $2.3 billion for illegal marketing of several drugs.

In April, federal officials asked a judge to compel new chief executive officer Alex Gorsky to answer questions in a deposition. Gorsky led marketing efforts for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the subsidiary that makes Risperdal, during the time when the drug was being pushed through Medicaid programs and through Omnicare.

The federal case involves several states, but it does not involve a few states that have already gone into court to fight J&J over Risperdal promotion through Medicaid plans.

An Arkansas judge ordered J&J to pay $1.2 billion in penalties for its actions in that state. J&J said it would appeal.

Attorneys representing Pennsylvania have asked the Commonwealth Court to restore its suit against J&J.

Dozens of patient lawsuits related to Risperdal are also still pending.

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Comments (2)

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:56 AM, 06/11/2012

What you need to know about,atypical antipsychotics or SGA (second generation antipsychotic).

The side effects of Zyprexa can include death. Over 3,000 died, as of statistics from 2008. Seroquel is killing soldiers with PTSD (sudden cardiac arrest). The atypicals are approved for manic depression, when everyone who knows anything is aware that the drug that helps with this condition is lithium (yes, cheap and generic).
Hoping the tide of Risperdal outrage becomes even stronger.
It needs to include all the children being given these drugs for bogus reasons – many children in foster care, or with the fake diagnosis of “pediatric bipolar”, and etc., etc. Pick up any magazine (especially women’s magazines) and there are ads for “if your antidepresant isn’t working, just add Abilify”. No mention of why a person would continue to take a non-working anti-depressant, let alone add one of the atypicals, a drug class that should really never have been.
--
*Tell the truth don't be afraid*- Daniel Haszard

— DannyHaszard

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 9:07 AM, 06/14/2012

This “medication” caused me to:

Forget my mom and dad
Forget all friends
Have no thought pattern when I speak
Scared of people
Extreme depression
gained 80 pounds
No moods¨
No joy
Had to quit school

and to sit and download illegal song,movies, software whitch I will be fined over 500,000 dollars greatly for some time in the future!

— Sjur