And the 1 Boring Old Man author, a retired psychiatrist is on the way to go witness this case in person:
"I started medical school at twenty-two, and went out of my way to change my specialty to psychiatry at thirty-three. It felt like the thing I was supposed to be doing. At the risk of sounding corny, I always felt honored to be allowed to practice medicine, and particularly psychiatry as I have known it. Now at seventy, if people are going to trivialize that, to treat it like some entrepreneurial business venture that doesn’t have to do with the fate of the patients being treated, and if some psychiatrists participated in that venture, I want to hear it in person. I’ve always thought that the question "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it – does it make a sound?" has an definite answer. "No!" That’s certainly true in psychotherapy – step one to untying the knots is having your story heard by another person. I just want the J&J/TMAP story heard, so that’s why I’m going to to Texas to be one of the people that hears it…"
This doctor deserves a standing ovation.
AG Austin,Texas:State attorney general sued drug company
Abbott: state paid excessively to Johnson & Johnson for Risperdal:Statesman.com
"Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is pitted against one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies in a trial starting this week that could bring the state more than $1 billion one of its largest potential awards since a multibillion-dollar tobacco settlement in 1998.
Abbott is charging that Johnson & Johnson Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical LLC and five other related companies defrauded the state in a "sophisticated marketing scheme" that caused the Texas Medicaid Program to pay too much for Janssen's schizophrenia drug Risperdal, the lawsuit says.
The state also questions the companies' marketing practices and alleges that the companies misled state health officials about the drug's effectiveness, the risk of side effects and its suitability for pediatric use.
The trial is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. today in Judge John Dietz's 250th state District Court in Travis County.
The drug companies have denied the allegations in court documents and in a statement issued last week.
"Janssen is prepared to vigorously defend itself against these claims," the company said. "We are committed to ethical business practices and have policies in place to ensure that our products are only promoted for their FDA-approved indication. If questions are raised about adherence to our marketing and promotion policies, we act quickly to investigate the situation and take appropriate disciplinary action."
Texas got involved with Risperdal litigation about six years ago, when Abbott's office joined a lawsuit filed by corporate whistle-blower Allen Jones, who is a former employee of the office of the inspector general of Pennsylvania.
Jones has questioned the process for how Risperdal was approved in Texas and how that information was used by other states in their approval processes.
Jones filed suit in 2004 after his investigation in Pennsylvania led him to examine the companies' track record in Texas. As a whistle-blower plaintiff, he alleged that the companies overcharged the states and overstated the drug's effectiveness.
Risperdal, approved by the FDA in 1993, was one of Johnson & Johnson's top-selling drugs. Sales dropped off when Risperdal got generic competition in June 2008. Originally, the drug was only approved for adults, but later the FDA allowed it for children and the elderly.
Texas' case alleges that the drug companies prevented state health officials from receiving "truthful information about the safety, efficacy, appropriate uses and cost-effectiveness of Risperdal."
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Wouldn't it be nice to see some prison time for such illegal practices? fines, large or small are not doing the job.
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