BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will receive $1.05 million as part of a $375 million national medical fraud settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturer Cephalon Inc.
The suit accused Cephalon of marketing and promoting three prescription drugs for uses that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drugs were Actiq, a highly addictive painkiller; Gabritril, an anti-seizure drug; and Provigil, a sleep disorder drug.
Federal prosecutors in September announced an overall settlement of $425 million with the drug maker, including a $375 million civil settlement, a $40 million criminal fine and $10 million in criminal forfeiture.
Louisiana officials say the settlement reimburses the federal government and participating states for excessive amounts paid by the Medicaid program as a result of Cephalon’s improper off-label marketing campaign.
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