False advertising costs J&J >$1billion

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1. Judge hits J & J with $1.1B penalty in Risperdal

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&

($JNJ<http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=128 & ms=NDAxNDM0MgS2 & r=MTg5NDA3MjU5NzcS1 & b=\

0 & j=MTIzMzM5OTI4S0 & mt=1 & rt=0>) has suffered another

Risperdal<http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=230 & ms=NDAxNDM0MgS2 & r=MTg5NDA3MjU5NzcS\

1 & b=0 & j=MTIzMzM5OTI4S0 & mt=1 & rt=0> defeat. And this one is several times larger

than the others: An Arkansas judge slapped the drugmaker with $1.1 billion in

penalties for deceptively marketing the antipsychotic drug in his state.

The judge's ruling comes after a jury verdict yesterday against the company and

its Janssen unit. Like other juries before it, the Arkansas panel found that the

company soft-pedaled Risperdal's risks. Once again, it's a marketing letter

dispatched to doctors that apparently clinched the deal.

After deliberating about three hours, the jury decided that J & J and Janssen

broke deceptive trade practice laws with a " Dear Doctor " letter touting

Risperdal as safer than its rivals. Using a phrase that he has repeated several

times as this case has progressed, Arkansas Attorney General Mc

said the jurors agreed that J & J " lied to patients and doctors because they cared

more about profits than people. "

In a similar case in South Carolina, where a letter to doctors also was deemed

deceptive, a judge penalized J & J thousands of dollars for each copy sent, for a

total of $327 million. The Arkansas AG had asked for at least $1.25 billion.

As Bloomberg notes, this is the third jury verdict against J & J, in lawsuits

claiming that state Medicaid programs were duped into overspending on the drug.

Besides the South Carolina case, a Louisiana suit ended in $258 million in

penalties. J & J has appealed both of those rulings.

So, what's next for J & J, which faces other state claims, not to mention a

combination federal-and-state settlement of Risperdal probes? " Three losses in a

row means the company needs to become more realistic about its exposure and come

up with an exit strategy in the form of a settlement, " Carl Tobias, a

product-liability law professor, told Bloomberg.

But J & J could well appeal this third verdict, too. After the ruling, J & J

advanced an argument that sounds like a warm-up for a pre-emption claim--that

the FDA, as a federal agency, supersedes state law. " It is our position that an

individual state should not penalize a pharmaceutical company for using an

FDA-approved package insert or decide for itself whether a company complies with

FDA rules, " a spokeswoman told Bloomberg.

- read the Bloomberg

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Related Articles:

SC jury finds J & J letter violated consumer

laws<http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=107 & ms=NDAxNDM0MgS2 & r=MTg5NDA3MjU5NzcS1 & b=0\

& j=MTIzMzM5OTI4S0 & mt=1 & rt=0>

Feds reportedly demand $1.8B in Risperdal marketing

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& j=MTIzMzM5OTI4S0 & mt=1 & rt=0>

J & J said to settle TX Risperdal case for

$158M<http://links.mkt1985.com/ctt?kn=2 & ms=NDAxNDM0MgS2 & r=MTg5NDA3MjU5NzcS1 & b=0 & \

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Witness: J & J memo urged off-label Risperdal

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Read more about: &

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S. Kalman PhD, RD, FACN

Director, BD - Nutrition & Applied Clinical Trials

Miami Research Associates

6141 Sunset Drive - Suite 301

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