Accutane Case Evaluations Being Provided to the Public
The AP (5/22) reported that on Friday in Boston, “a federal judge…ordered two subsidiaries of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson to pay more than $81 million after pleading guilty to illegally promoting the epilepsy drug Topamax [topiramate] for psychiatric uses.” As a result, “Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC will pay a $6.14 million criminal fine after pleading guilty…to one count of misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for promoting Topamax for unproved uses,” while “its holding company, Titusville, NJ-based Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., will pay $75.37 million to resolve civil allegations under the False Claims Act.”
“While the Food and Drug Administration approved Topamax for the treatment of some epileptic seizures, Ortho-McNeil promoted the drug for unapproved psychiatric uses, such as bipolar disorder and drug and alcohol dependence, the government said in court filings,” Bloomberg News (5/21, Feeley, Ford) reported. Bloomberg News noted that “the case is US v. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, 10-CR-10147, US District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).”
The Detroit Free Press (5/22, Anstett) reported that two Detroit-area women, Angela Maher and Anastasia Savka-Klovski, “finally blew the whistle to the US Department of Justice. On Friday, they walked away with $3 million each, part of an $81-million settlement against a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.” The women alleged that “they and an army of sales reps in other states were trained, prodded, and micromanaged by their supervisors at Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals to promote Topamax for symptoms other than seizures and migraine headaches, for which it was approved.”
While this is not related to the accutane cases we are currently reviewing and providing free case evaluations, it does show there are problems with pharmaceutical companies picking profits over patients, and choosing sales over safety. Ed Wallis is an attorney who is currently providing free case evaluations to the general public, including those that may have taken the acne medication accutane and have since been diagnosed with irritable bowel disease or syndrome, ulcerative colitis, or crohn’s disease. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with these conditions, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering, but you should act today, as time limits may be against your case.
Ed Wallis is an attorney currently representing clients who have taken several prescription drugs and claim injuries associated with those drugs, including Accutane and Reglan. He also represents clients across the country pertaining to medical device failures, including the Advanced Bionics HiRes90k cochlear implant and the Gynecare Prolift transvaginal mesh – sling. For a free case evaluation, please contact:
DURING WORKING HOURS: (901) 527-2125
AFTER HOURS/WEEKENDS: (901) 275-0600
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