J&J Pushed Risperdal With Golf, Popcorn, Witness Says

Bloomberg Business has;
J&J Pushed Risperdal With Golf, Popcorn, Witness Says
By Jef Feeley and Margaret Cronin Fisk on September 25, 2012

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) promoted illegal marketing of its antipsychotic drug Risperdal by paying physicians to give favorable speeches, subsidizing golf trips and even having sales staff “butter up doctors” with bags of “Risperdal Popcorn,” a former company manager testified.

J&J executives urged salespeople in 2003 to increase visits to doctors who treat children as part of an effort to generate more than $1 billion in annual sales of the drug, Tone Jones, a former J&J sales manager, said today in Pennsylvania state court in Philadelphia.

“There were some discussions” about the instruction to market Risperdal to child psychiatrists since the government hadn’t given permission for such promotions, Jones told jurors. “But it was a company directive, so we had to execute it flawlessly in the field.”

The trial stems from a lawsuit by Andrew Bentley, a Texas teenager who blames the medicine for causing him to grow female breasts. Bentley’s case against the pharmaceutical manufacturer is one of about 420 lawsuits claiming injury by Risperdal, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company said last month in a regulatory filing.

J&J didn’t illegally market the drug and Risperdal didn’t harm Bentley, Laura Smith, the company’s lawyer, said yesterday in opening statements.

Wrongdoing Denied

J&J denied any wrongdoing.

“During the time it was actively promoted, our policy was to promote Risperdal in its FDA indication,” Teresa Mueller, a company spokeswoman said today. “We take our obligation to ensure the safe and appropriate use of our medication very seriously.”

Continue reading Bloomberg coverage here.

Thank You Bloomberg, Mr Feely and Ms Cronin Fisk

J&J Denied any Wrongdoing.

DEPOSED: Risperdal, Prolactin & Gynecomastia The Gorsky Transcript Pt III

A: is J&J CEO Alex "Risperdal" Gorsky

18 Q. My question is, how can Johnson & Johnson grow
19 a share in a child and adolescent market when the drug
20 isn’t even indicated for use in the child and
21 adolescent market?

22 A. Well, my interpretation of that is, this is in

23 fact a marketing plan, (1) not a selling plan. As a

24 marketing plan, its intent is to cover a wide range of

1 activities regarding the development as well as the

2 promotion of Risperdal.

J&J Guilty Says Arkansas Jury In $1.25 Billion Marketing Case

And according to now CEO, and then VP of Marketing and Selling Gorsky, there's a Difference between Marketing plans and Selling plans. Apparently it's only illegal if it leaves the J&J premises themselves as Marketing rather than Selling, but In House Off Label Marketing is a different Ideation.

"having sales staff “butter up doctors” with bags of “Risperdal Popcorn,” a former company manager testified.

How many More of these "Denied Any Wrongdoings/Revelations" is it going to take before we see the US Attorney General break this company up and the receivers sell it off in pieces as the US Attorney General Drags the People in Charge of this company off in handcuffs?

US 18C95 Sec 1958: Murder For Hire

Ooops, Wait a minute, This is Mental Health where not only is Science itself held at bay but the Law too has been declared an entity, Non-Gratis.

F**K THE LAW: We Do As We Damn Well Please!