Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $327 Million for Deceptive Marketing

In early June 2011, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $327 million due to its deceptive marketing of the antipsychotic medication, Risperdal.  The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and various attorneys general of multiple states have been investigating the off-label marketing of Risperdal for many years.  Approximately two months earlier, Johnson & Johnson set aside an unspecified amount of money to be used to resolve the litigation and investigations related to Risperdal which the company is presently facing.

This case includes other state lawsuits involving the marketing of the antipsychotic drug.  While Johnson & Johnson emerged victorious in June 2010 in a lawsuit brought in Pennsylvania, that case contrasted the $3.95 million award in 2009 from a West Virginia judge in a suit alleging that Johnson & Johnson misled doctors about the risks and benefits of Risperdal.  Similarly, in October 2010, a jury in Louisiana ordered the company to pay $257.7 million for making misleading claims which did not include the $73 million in legal fees which were later added.

For more information see:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/j-j-ordered-to-pay-327-million-on-deceptive-marketing-claims.html