In one of the largest health care fraud cases in U.S. history, Johnson & Johnson and affiliated companies have agreed to pay over $2.2 billion to resolve allegations of improper prescription drug marketing concerning the drugs Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor. This global settlement covers civil and criminal liability for marketing practices that date back to 1999.
Off-label marketing occurs when a pharmaceutical company promotes a drug for uses beyond those approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Risperdal, for example, was approved by the FDA to treat schizophrenia, but a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary directed its sales representatives to urge physicians to prescribe Risperdal to treat other symptoms such as anxiety, depression and confusion. These representatives received bonuses for increasing sales for all uses, including those not approved by the FDA.
The government alleged that these marketing practices caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs.
The whistleblowers who filed the False Claims Act lawsuits that exposed these fraudulent marketing practices will recover approximately $167.7 million from the federal government’s share of the settlement proceeds.
For more information on this case, click here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/November/13-ag-1170.html