By David Gialanella | New Jersey Law Journal | August 30, 2012 A Johnson & Johnson unit agreed Thursday to pay $181 million to settle dozens of states’ claims that it engaged in illegal off-label marketing of antipsychotic drugs, with New Jersey to receive $5.3 million. Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Titusville improperly marketed Risperdal, Risperdal Consta, Risperdal M-Tab and Invega, in violation of federal law, according to Chiesa v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MER-C-75-12. The drugs are primarily used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar mania, but have off-label uses. While doctors also may prescribe Risperdal to treat Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, depression and  [ Read More ]

By Chuck Bartels The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas judge on Wednesday fined Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary more than $1.1 billion after a jury found that the companies downplayed and hid risks associated with taking the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Circuit Judge Tim Fox determined that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, committed nearly 240,000 violations of the state’s Medicaid fraud law — or one for each Risperdal prescription issued to state Medicaid patients over a 3½-year period. Each violation carried a $5,000 fine, the state’s mandatory minimum amount, bringing the total to more  [ Read More ]

APP.com About the Series The largest health care firm in the world has seen record profits – and global allegations of fraud, bribery and deception. How did the most admired company in America get in trouble? Our four-day series examines the secret world of J&J. Click here to read the four part series… Johnson & Johnson, the gold standard for American corporations, has been admired for its devotion to a simple business philosophy: Put your customers first, no matter the cost, and profits will follow. That idea, found everywhere from giant tablets in the lobby of J&J’s New Brunswick headquarters  [ Read More ]