A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson who is accused of promoting the following prescription drugs; Risperdal, Invega and Natrecor, for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally they are accused of payment of kickbacks to physicians and to the nation’s largest long-term care pharmacy provider.
The settlement includes $1.72 billion in civil settlements with federal and state governments as well as $485 million in criminal fines and forfeited profits. Whistleblowers in three states will collect $167.7 million.
The government's criminal complaint over Risperdal charged that from 2002 to 2003, sales representatives of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals promoted the antipsychotic to physicians and other prescribers who treated elderly dementia patients by urging them to use the drug to treat symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, depression, hostility and confusion despite the drug only being approved to treat schizophrenia at that time. Sales reps were allegedly offered incentives for off-label promotion of the drug.
The civil complaint alleges that between 1999 and 2005, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen promoted Risperdal and a similar drug, Invega, to control numerous behavioral problems in seniors, children and the mentally disabled .
