Controversy, Lawsuits and Settlements
On 11 April 2012, Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., were fined about $1.2 billion by an Arkansas judge. The jury found the companies had downplayed multiple risks associated with risperidone (Risperdal). The judge held that nearly 240,000 violations of the state's Medicaid fraud law had been committed. Each violation carried a fine of $5,000. The companies were also fined $11 million for more than 4,500 violations of the state’s deceptive practices laws.
According to an online report from the Wall Street Journal on June 20, 2012, "Johnson & Johnson and the Justice Department are close to settling a protracted investigation into the company’s promotion of the antipsychotic Risperdal, for what would be one of the highest sums to date in a drug-marketing case. The sides are trying to wrap together a number of lawsuits, state investigations and other probes of alleged illegal marketing, and are discussing a payment of $1.5 billion or higher."
In August 2012, Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $181 million to 36 U.S. states in order to settle claims that it had promoted risperidone for non-approved uses including dementia, anger management and anxiety.
Read more about this topic: Risperidone
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—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)