Mass. attorney general sues Johnson & Johnson

BOSTON – Massachusetts’ attorney general sued Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho-McNeil-Janssen unit for improper marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, Bloomberg News reported last week.
The company marketed the drug as a treatment for dementia in the elderly and a way to ease various ailments of younger people, when those uses hadn’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement.
Johnson & Johnson’s promotion of Risperdal for dementia failed to disclose “an increased risk of death” associated with the drug, according to the statement. The FDA approved the medication primarily for treating schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder, according to Coakley’s office.
“Janssen’s illegal marketing and sales tactics helped the company generate hundreds of millions of dollars in sales in the commonwealth,” the complaint stated.
Teresa Mueller, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit, said the company will “vigorously defend” itself against the claims. &#8226