The AAJ cited a recent NYT article today that Johnson & Johnson paid kickbacks to the largest nursing home pharmacy to increase the number of elderly patients that ingest its medications. The complaint was filed by the US attorney in Boston. “The complaint alleges that Omnicare received “tens of millions of dollars…to buy and recommend Risperdal [risperidone], ‘as well as “prescription pain relievers Duragesic and Ultram, and the antibiotic Levaquin’.” The kickbacks were to Omnicare were disguised as grants or educational funds to influence doctors to have prescriptions switched. Apparently “J&J paid Omnicare rebates for switching prescriptions. Under federal law, rebates are legal unless Medicaid does not receive the same benefit. The complaint alleges that J&J disguised its rebates to Omnicare as physician-prescriber-data payments in order to avoid reporting them.” The complaint alleges that J&J disguised its rebates to Omnicare as physician-prescriber-data payments to avoid reporting them. Once again the prescription drug companies are placing their concern for profits before the best interest of the patients.
Johnson & Johnson Recalls Tylenol
September 25, 2009
A recent AAJ article reported that on Sept. 24, Johnson & Johnson’s announced it is voluntarily recalling 57 lots of infants’ and children’s liquid Tylenol [acetaminophen] products because of possible bacterial contamination. All of the products being recalled were made between April and June 2008 and include Children’s