Connecticut is receiving $3.6 million as part of a $181 million national settlement with Johnson & Johnson, settling legal action brought by 36 states over the company’s marketing of its Risperdal antipsychotic drug.
New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson said it agreed to the settlement to avoid a prolonged legal process, and did not admit to any wrongdoing.
The states”™ complaint alleged that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals promoted Risperdal to treat Alzheimer”™s disease, dementia, depression, and anxiety, even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved the drug for those purposes.
“This is an appropriate settlement that will presumably send a message throughout the marketplace that promoting medications for off-label use is off-limits for drug companies,” said William Rubenstein, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, in a prepared statement.
