Ohio will receive a $4 million cut of national legal settlements with two drugmakers that allegedly promoted medications for unapproved uses.
Of that amount, about $2.3 million will head back to the federal government as reimbursement for Ohio’s Medicaid expenses, according to a statement from the office of Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.
In one case, New Jersey-based Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. engaged in so-called off-label promotion of its drug Topamax, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating epilepsy and migraines. The company improperly promoted the drug for unapproved uses such as bipolar disorder, and drug and alcohol dependency, according to the statement. Ohio also is slated to receive about $3 million of a $75 million nationwide settlement with Ortho-McNeil.
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In the second case, California-based Allergan Inc. promoted the off-label use of Botox for patients suffering from headaches, pain, overactive bladder and muscle spasticity, according to the statement for Cordray. Ohio’s cut of the $600 million national settlement with Allergan comes to about $1 million.
“As a result of these improper marketing campaigns, the Medicaid program in Ohio was paying for drugs that had been prescribed for uses that were not approved,” Cordray said in the statement.
