J&J Appeals $1.2 Billion Arkansas Risperdal Penalty

Bloomberg has;

J&J Appeals $1.2 Billion Arkansas Risperdal Ruling
By Jef Feeley - Jul 20, 2012 4:24 PM ET


"Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) appealed an Arkansas judge’s decision to fine the drugmaker $1.2 billion over what state officials said was a misleading marketing campaign for the company’s antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

Lawyers for J&J, the world’s biggest health-products maker, asked the Arkansas Supreme Court today to throw out a ruling by Judge Tim Fox that the company misled doctors and patients about Risperdal’s risks and should pay fines for almost 240,000 violations of the state’s Medicaid laws, according to court filings.

J&J and its Janssen unit are seeking to have the state’s highest court consider laws that prohibit “imposition of excessive fines,” the company’s attorneys said in the filing.

The penalty is the largest of the three handed down so far against New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J in state cases alleging the company hid Risperdal’s risks and tricked Medicaid regulators into paying more than they should have for the medicine." .....

Thank You Bloomberg.

Internal J&J E-Mails Detail Ugly Mismarketing Of Antipsychotics

Here's Bloomberg again.

"by Jim Edwards

"One of the reasons Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) lost a recent trial verdict over its misleading marketing of Risperdal was because jurors saw the company’s internal emails in which senior staff described their own actions as “ugly” and not “competent.

.....

In 2003, the FDA became increasingly concerned that use of drugs such as Risperdal and Eli Lilly (LLY)’s Zyprexa led to weight gain, diabetes and, in some patients, an early death. So it wrote to all antipsychotic drug companies to require them to send a “dear health care provider” letter to all U.S. doctors advising them of this risk (click to enlarge):

But J&J began trying to figure out whether the “dear doctor letter” could actually be used to promote Risperdal, which executives believed was not as risky as similar drugs. SVP/R&D Scott Reines(pictured) had seen a previous “dear doctor letter” from Eli Lilly that had used the same sleight of hand, and he asked a colleague, “how much commercial liability would we incur if we sent a similar letter about Risperdal”?:

..... 

When J&J’s letter went out, instead of heightening doctors’ awareness of the risk of diabetes it said the opposite: “Risperdal is not associated with an increased risk of diabetes”: See our last post. Out of 1,935 distinct Adverse REactions Diabetes was the 2nd most often reported to FDA's Medwatch, but J&J didn't mislead the Doctors.

Oh what the Hell. We have a Supreme Court that just upheld the idea that the Federal Government can create an Inactivity Tax. Yeah, Uncle Sam can Tax Citizens for failing to enter the stream of legal commerce.

Health Insurance this week. Mangoes next week. 

If WE we're J&J, after the SCOTUS ObamaCare Meltdown, we'd try it too. 

See our previous post:

J&J Risperdal Agrees To Pay Obama DOJ's Parking Ticket

Out of 1,935 different Adverse Reactions to Risperdal, Diabetes was the #2 most often AE Reported to FDA's Medwatch. And J&J finds the State of Arkansas fines excessive.