DigitalOlympus.com Comments on Johnson & Johnson Agreement to $2B DOJ Settlement
Online, December 20, 2013 (Newswire.com) - In the wake of recent news report by Matthew Rocco published on November 4 on FOXBusiness.com concerning the agreement of Johnson & Johnson to pay a $2.2 billion fine and offer a guilty plea to an infringement, to end a federal probe into purported bribes as well as the marketing of drugs for off-label usages, DigitalOlympus.com comments on the federal prosecutors' efforts and how firms can avert business related infringements.
The FOXBusiness.com news indicates that under the agreement, one of the biggest between drug producers and federal prosecutors, Johnson & Johnson will retain its power to sell its products to Medicare and other government health schemes.
The deal ends the Department of Justice's investigation into marketing of Risperdal, which treats symptoms of mental ailments such as schizophrenia. The drug was a leading seller for &J with $2.2 billion in sales in 2007, though the firm lost U.S. patent protection a year later.
In a statement following the report, DigitalOlympus.com team of researchers hailed the efforts of the U.S. federal prosecutors, describing it as a step in the right direction to ensure a level playing field in the drug sector.
"In cases where prosecutors find it hard to fully investigate a firm, they can hire a third party expert in fraud investigations to help them dig up as much as possible," says Josh Cole principal researcher at DigitalOlympus.com.
In addition, the reuters.com news story points that the government alleged that Janssen, a J&J subsidiary, rolled out the drug for an unendorsed use between March 2002 and December 2003. Furthermore, the settlement also includes probes into marketing of heart-failure drug Natrecor and Invega, a separate schizophrenia medicine.
Owen suggested that to avoid similar violations and penalties, "Firms can hire a company that specializes in Business intelligence which can help the firm with the right strategy to use to stay ahead of rivals without violating legal standards."
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