MO to recover $27M in Johnson & Johnson settlement

Missouri's Medicaid program is earmarked to recover a $26.7 million share of a national settlement with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and subsidiaries.

Johnson & Johnson agreed yesterday to pay $2.2 billion to settle charges the company engaged in unlawful marketing practices to promote the sales of antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega, as well as Natrecor, a drug used to treat heart failure, according to a news release from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

The settlement resolves claims filed in lawsuits by whistleblowers, state attorneys general and the federal government.

From 1999-2005, Johnson & Johnson allegedly practiced unlawful off-label marketing and paid illegal kickbacks to health care professionals and pharmacy providers to promote or prescribe Risperdal to children and the elderly without proper Federal Drug Administration approvals. The drug is approved by the FDA to treat schizophrenia in adults and adolescents ages 13 to 17, according to FDA.gov.

Johnson & Johnson also was accused of employing illegal tactics 2007-09 for its schizophrenia treatment drug Invega. The company allegedly marketed the drug as safe for elderly patients when it had no approval to do so, the release said.

Natrecor was marketed as a safe treatment for individuals with less severe heart conditions than FDA approvals granted.

The manufacturer's alleged unlawful marketing caused fraudulent claims to be submitted to state Medicaid programs.

“This settlement returns scarce health care dollars to the state of Missouri. It also serves as a reminder to pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs for FDA-approved product label uses only,” Koster said in the release.