Risperdal maker hit with $1.1 billion verdict

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The maker of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal has been ordered to pay $1.1 billion for defrauding Arkansas’ Medicaid program.

This is the third state to successfully sue for mismarketing of Risperdal. South Carolina won $327 million and Louisiana won $258 million in similar trials. Texas reached a $158 million settlement over the drug in January.

The state attorney general argued that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, illegally marketed the drug by telling doctors it was safer and more effective than competitor drugs, downplayed its risks and marketed it for unapproved uses including treatment for the elderly and children.

A jury found the company violated state Medicaid fraud laws and consumer protection laws.

Judge Tim Fox then imposed a $1.1 billion verdict consisting of a $5,000 fine for each of the 240,000 acts of Medicaid fraud – each time a Risperdal prescription was written for a Medicaid patient – and an additional $11 million for more than 4,500 violations of the state deceptive practices act.