Furious Seasons

March 12, 2007

J&J Gets A Threesome

And not the good kind, but three subpoenas from US Attorneys in Boston, San Francisco and Philadelphia. The subpoenas are related to ongoing investigations of sales and marketing of Risperdal. Which is to say off-label marketing. Although Zyprexa and Eli Lilly get most of the press due to problems with the drug and corporate behavior, I'd say J&J/Janssen is in just as much trouble and merits just as much press coverage. The State of Texas is suing J&J, California's AG is investigating and so is the Inspector General from the federal Office of Personnel Management.

Between the Risperdal investigations, the Zyprexa lawsuits, the Seroquel lawsuits, BMS's recent mysterious settlement with the US Attorney in New Jersey (it's not clear if that was related to Abilify, but I bet it was), plus the pending Congressional investigation of Zyprexa and Seroquel, it looks like the wonder drugs are in a world of trouble. In my adult life, I cannot recall a class of drugs that have ended up in such a pickle before. Nor have I seen such a class of drugs that were once touted as cures turn into such duds. The whole thing is just weird.

In other news, I continue to be perplexed that Rep. Henry Waxman's committee hasn't pulled J&J into its investigation of atypical antipsychotics. Maybe there is a reason for that which I don't understand, but based on what I've seen in the real world, Risperdal was being pushed as hard as Zyprexa was for all kinds of uses in the early 00s.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at March 12, 2007 10:47 AM

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Comments

Actually I don't think it's that weird once you've read the story of how these poisons (excuse my language and apologies to those of you on them) were approved. As I said before they took some pretty darn sick people, withdrew them abruptly from their old antipsychotics, which made them super psychotic (from rebound, NOT relapse) and then put half on placebo and half on the "new wonder drugs". Those that were getting the drugs did do better and those who understand withdrawal sure could have predicted that. (Thanks to Robert Whitaker for telling this story in Mad in America.) It had nothing to do with the improved "efficacy" of the drugs themselves. The FDA buys this stuff as a legitimate basis for approval. It boggles the mind to be honest. But the fact that this sort of corrupt process would lead to a day of reckoning within a decade or less is not that weird. What's weird, or I would prefer to say tragic, is that it was ever allowed to get to this point.

Posted by: Sara at March 12, 2007 02:34 PM

Well it is the good kind when you think about it. Big Pharma has screwed consumers enough, that a little payback legal-wise is just as good.

I love justice.

Posted by: Stephany at March 12, 2007 05:15 PM

Hi, I am new to this discussion. I am wondering why Seroquel is under investigation?

Posted by: Seroquel at March 13, 2007 10:52 AM