J&J Pays $7.75 Million to Settle Risperdal Suit With Arkansas

The Arkansas attorney general agreed to a $7.75 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over its marketing of the antipsychotic Risperdal, just over a year after the state’s top court reversed a $1.2 billion verdict.

The state sued the drugmaker in 2007, alleging J&J’s Janssen subsidiary misled prescribers by touting Risperdal (risperidone) as safer and more effective than other antipsychotics and collecting reimbursements from the state Medicaid program.

The state also claimed Janssen violated state law by distributing a letter making the false claims to healthcare providers. The Arkansas Supreme Court rejected that claim in March 2014 because state law applies only to false statements by a healthcare facility.

In an order approved Monday, Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox acknowledged the settlement when he approved plaintiff’s attorney fees and expenses of $2 million.

The deal is the latest in a series of victories for J&J following its agreement in November 2013 to pay $2.2 billion in criminal and civil fees to settle a federal complaint against Risperdal.

In January 2014, the Louisiana Supreme Court threw out a lower court’s $258 million ruling against the pharma giant, and in February of this year, the South Carolina Supreme Court cut a lower court’s $327 million ruling to $136 million.

Janssen says it agreed to the settlement to end the litigation, State of Arkansas, ex rel. v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., but denies liability. Read the court ruling at http://www.fdanews.com/05-21-15-risperdal.pdf. — John Bechtel