Thursday, 27 February 2014

Drug firms to argue against $1.2B Ark. judgment


Lawyers for Johnson & Johnson are to argue before the Arkansas Supreme Court that a $1.2 billion judgment over its marketing of the antipsychotics drug Risperdal should be overturned.


The high court is to hear oral arguments Thursday over a verdict in a Pulaski County lawsuit that found that the company and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., downplayed and hid risks associated with taking Risperdal.


A judge fined the companies $5,000 for each of 240,000 prescriptions for Risperdal the state Medicaid program paid for over a 3 1/2 -year span.


The companies argue that the judgment violated their First Amendment right to free speech. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office responded that the argument has no merit.


Johnson & Johnson separately agreed to a $2.2 billion federal settlement on similar claims.



No comments:

Post a Comment