J&J fined after ‘lying to patients for profit’
pharmafile | April 16, 2012 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | J&J, JJ, Janssen, Risperdal, US
A US judge has slapped a $1.19 billion fine on Johnson & Johnson after it was found to be downplaying the safety risk of its antipsychotic Risperdal.
A judge in the US state of Arkansas said that J&J’s subsidiary Janssen had been misleading patients and doctors about risks associated with Risperdal, and has ordered the firm to pay the fine.
The jury in the case found that the Janssen unit engaged in ‘deceptive’ practices when marketing Risperdal, and purposefully downplayed the drug’s links to diabetes, weight gain and potential stroke risk.
Dustin McDaniel, Arkansas attorney-general, said: “An Arkansas jury confirmed that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals lied to patients and doctors because they cared more about profits than people.”
In a statement, Janssen said it would ask for a new trial or, if that failed, it would appeal. “The state did not show any Arkansas patient was ever harmed by using Risperdal,” it said.
Janssen denies the claims that had been misleading doctors and patients, and said: “Janssen presented abundant evidence showing the company acted responsibly and fully complied with all laws and regulations regarding its antipsychotic prescription medication Risperdal.
“The state did not show any Arkansas patient was ever harmed by using Risperdal, that any Arkansas physician or Arkansas Medicaid was ever misled by the drug’s label or package insert, or that the state ever paid for a Risperdal prescription that was not properly written and eligible for reimbursement.”
The fine is one of the largest on record for a state fraud case involving a drug company.
But the decision will come as no surprise to J&J, as this is the most recent in a string of legal losses for the firm related to its marketing of Risperdal. In January, Texas State settled a similar case with subsidiary Janssen for $158 million.
Last year, a South Carolina judge ordered civil penalties of $327 million against Janssen, and in 2010, a Louisiana jury awarded nearly $258 million in damages.
The firm is currently fighting similar legal battles in several other US states.
Ben Adams
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