Cephalon To Pay $425 Million For Improper Drug Marketing

Drug maker Cephalon Inc., completing a previously announced settlement, will pay $425 million for illegally marketing a highly addictive lollipop painkiller and two other drugs for non-approved uses.  US Federal prosecutors also announced Monday that Cephalon, as planned, will plead to a criminal misdemeanor for its off-label marketing. 'This company... put patients at risk for nothing more than the bottom line,' Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said at a news conference. Doctors can prescribe drugs for uses other than what has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but pharmaceutical companies cannot promote such 'off-label' use in their marketing. One of Cephalon's drugs, Actiq, was marketed to doctors for maladies including migraines and injuries when the fentanyl lollipop is a highly addictive narcotic approved only for cancer patients with severe pain, authorities said. Cephalon encouraged off-label marketing at lavish physician-education conferences and through its compensation and bonus structure, authorities said. The company also had its sales force call on doctors who would not normally prescribe the three drugs, they said.

Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press, 9-29-08:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080929/cephalon-to-pay-425m-for-improper-drug-marketing.htm