Consumer Law

Maker of Anti Depressants Charged with Fraud

By Kia Franklin

Oops. I guess drug maker Forest Labs didn't know it was illegal to actively market to pediatricians anti-depressants that were only approved for adult use. But it is. Especially when the company knows (and for years has hidden this knowledge) that "the drugs were not effective in children and might even pose risks to them, including causing some to become suicidal." (NYT)

And, I guess they also didn't know that it's illegal to give baseball tickets, gift certificates to expensive restaurants, and paid vacations to the doctors who prescribed them. But it is.

And, I guess they also didn't know that the Justice Department would actually pursue them for this. But it is.

From the complaint:
?Forest told prescribing physicians a half-truth and thereby prevented them and the public from having all potentially available information when making decisions about how to treat a serious medical condition in pediatric patients.?

According to the NYT, the government is seeking to recover up to three times the amount of money spent by federal programs to pay for pediatric prescriptions.

Full post as published by TortDeform.com on February 27, 2009 (boomark / email).