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Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway Announces $75.3 Million Settlement with Johnson & Johnson Subsidiary
Attorney General Jack Conway today announced that Kentucky will participate in a $75,370,000 settlement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of global pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson over allegations the company illegally and improperly marketed the anti-seizure drug Topamax. Johnson & Johnson is the world's eighth-largest pharmaceutical company with more than 250 operating companies in 60 countries employing approximately 114,000 people.
The settlement resolves claims brought by the federal government, the Kentucky Attorney General and other participating states that Ortho-McNeil-Janssen knowingly engaged in a company-wide scheme to illegally and improperly market the drug Topamax for uses that had not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). The FDA only approved Topamax for use in treating epileptic seizures and to prevent migraine headaches. Despite these limited approvals, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen illegally marketed Topamax to physicians for use in the treatment of a variety of other unapproved psychiatric conditions, including, but not limited to, bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol dependency.
Ortho-McNeil-Janssen also pleaded guilty to the criminal charge of distribution of a misbranded product and entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Department for Health and Human Services, Office of the inspector General to ensure that there are no future violations in the marketing of Topamax by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen.
"I am pleased that a settlement has been reached to put a stop to Ortho-McNeil Janssen's off-label marketing of its drug Topamax," General Conway said. "This should serve as a warning to other pharmaceutical companies that fraud and abuse of the Medicaid Program will not be tolerated."
As a result of the settlement, Kentucky's state and federal portion is $1,967,191 which represents double the amount that Kentucky Medicaid expended for prescriptions written as a result of the company's illegal off-label marketing practices. Kentucky's state portion of the settlement is $610,165.
Since Attorney General Conway took office in January 2008, his Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control has recovered or been awarded more than $125 million for the state and federal Medicaid programs. These cases range from lawsuits and settlements against pharmaceutical companies to cases against individual providers.
The Attorney General's Tip Line for reporting allegations of Medicaid fraud is 1-877-228-7384.
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