J&J and Purdue settle Kentucky lawsuits for $39.5 million
pharmafile | December 24, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Johnson and Johnson, Kentucky, OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, Risperdal, lawsuits
Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma have settled separate lawsuits with the US state of Kentucky for a total of $39.5 million after being accused of misleading patients about the risks of two widely-used medicines.
J&J settled for $15.5 million allegations that it failed to warn that certain users of its Risperdal (risperidone) antipsychotic could develop gynaecomastia (male breast development), gain weight and develop diabetes. Last week, the company lost a litigation trial over gynaecomastia.
J&J was additionally accused by Kentucky of marketing the drug for the treatment of dementia, when it had not been approved in this indication by the FDA. A J&J spokesperson said: “Risperdal has helped and is still helping millions of patients”.
Purdue meanwhile, paid $24 million to settle a lawsuit over the company’s actions to allegedly concealing the addictive nature of OxyContin (oxycodone).
The state accused Purdue of an “aggressive national marketing campaign to promote the drug” following its approval in 1995, which implied that OxyContin wasn’t addictive and was less likely to be abused than other opioid drugs.
Attorney General Jack Conway says: “Purdue lit a fire of addiction with OxyContin which spread across the state.” In addition, Kentucky’s statement says the company “encouraged doctors who weren’t trained in pain management to overprescribe the opioid pain reliever to Kentucky patients.”
“Purdue Pharma created havoc in Kentucky, and I am glad it will be held accountable,” Conway added, although Purdue did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement.
Purdue’s general counsel Philip Strassburger responded in a statement: “For more than a decade we’ve implemented industry-leading programs to reduce the abuse and overuse of prescription opioids, including our 2010 reformulation of OxyContin with abuse-deterrent properties.”
The company did however plead guilty to the misbranding OxyContin in a separate lawsuit in the Western District of Virginia in 2007. At the time, Kentucky was offered approximately $500,000 to settle its claims, which it refused. Eight years later, the state will receive 28 times that amount.
Purdue is fighting similar OxyContin lawsuits filed last year by Chicago and two counties in California.
“These companies engaged in reckless behaviour that put our citizens at risk,” Attorney General Conway adds. “Both companies knowingly and aggressively marketed drugs they knew to be harmful in order to drive profits.”
Joel Levy
Related Content
Democratic Senators urge judge to reject Purdue Pharma’s proposal to pay CEO a bonus
Democratic US Senators are urging Judge Robert D. Drain to reject Purdue Pharma’s proposal to …
Johnson & Johnson seals largest pharmaceutical merger of the year by purchasing Momenta for $6.5 billion
Johnson & Johnson is set to buy the Cambridge based Momenta Pharmaceuticals for $6.5 billion, …
US to pay Johnson and Johnson $1 billion for COVID-19 vaccine
The US will pay Johnson and Johnson more than $1 billion to create 100 million …
