Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.2 billion to end drug marketing probes

Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to resolve criminal and civil allegations that the company promoted powerful psychiatric drugs for unapproved uses in children, seniors and disabled patients, the Justice Department announced Monday.

The allegations include paying kickbacks to physicians and pharmacies to recommend and prescribe Risperdal and Invega, both antipsychotic drugs, and Natrecor, which is used to treat heart failure.

The figure includes $1.72 billion in civil settlements with federal and state governments as well as $485 million in criminal fines and forfeited profits.

Calilfornia’s share of the civil damages is $89 million, California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris said.

“Motivated by profit, these companies made false claims that jeopardized the health of California’s most vulnerable patients … and left California taxpayers with the bill,” she said.

The agreement is the third-largest U.S. settlement involving a drug maker and the latest in a string of legal actions against drug firms that allegedly put profits ahead of patients.

One J&J unit, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., will plead guilty to misbranding Risperdal. Another unit, Scios Inc., which pleaded guilty in 2009 to misbranding Natrecor, will pay part of the civil fine in the current case.

In recent years, the government has cracked down on the pharmaceutical industry’s aggressive marketing tactics, which include pushing medicines for unapproved, or off-label, uses.

Although doctors are allowed to prescribe medicines for any use, drug makers cannot promote them in any way that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The off-label prescribing of Risperdal added to millions of dollars in federal and state spending by health programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

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