A lawyer representing the state of Arkansas claims that Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, misled thousands of doctors in the state about the risks accompanying the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, Bloomberg reports.
Arkansas is seeking more than $1.25 billion in penalties for alleged violations of the state’s deceptive-trade practices law.
Lawyers representing Arkansas argue that the company hid Risperdal’s diabetes risks, defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by failing to properly disclose those risks on the warning label, deceptively marketed the drug as safer and better than competing medicines, and also marketed it for unapproved uses.
There have been four other jury trials in states making similar allegations against Johnson & Johnson. In January, the company agreed to pay $158 million to Texas.
Johnson & Johnson is also facing legal action over alleged deceptive practices in marketing medical devices.
The company is still marketing an implant called transvaginal mesh, used to treat women for urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, despite thousands of reports of adverse events including organ perforation, device failure, and debilitating pain.
The company also allegedly used deceptive marketing for a type of metal-on-metal hip implant that was recalled in 2010. According to an investigation by British medical journal The Lancet, internal company documents indicate that Johnson & Johnson officials were aware as early as 2005 of the device’s high early failure rate, yet continued to market it.
If you’ve suffered injury as a result of receiving a transvaginal mesh implant or a DePuy Orthopaedics hip implant, contact Lopez McHugh for a free case evaluation.
See the story about the Risperdal lawsuit here: https://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-27/j-and-j-duped-arkansas-doctors-over-risperdal-lawyer-tells-jury
