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State wins $300,000 in drug settlement

The Day - 12/9/2016

Dec. 08--Connecticut has won more than $300,000 in a $19.5 million multistate settlement with drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb over its unauthorized marketing of the schizophrenia treatment Abilify, the state announced Thursday.

Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan A. Harris said in a joint announcement that the state's share of the settlement was $310,133, most of which will be deposited into the general fund.

"Bristol-Meyers Squibb promoted Abilify for use in elderly patients with symptoms consistent with dementia and Alzheimer's disease despite lack of FDA approval for this use," according to a press release issued by Jepsen's office.

Abilify, also known as aripiprazole, originally won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval as a schizophrenia treatment in 2002. The drug was later approved for bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

"In 2006, the FDA issued a black-box warning for Abilify stating that elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis who are treated with antipsychotic drugs have an increased risk of death," the release said.

The agreement requires Bristol-Myers Squibb to restrict its marketing of Abilify and prohibits future false or misleading claims about the drug.

Other states joining Connecticut in the settlement were Maryland, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

l.howard@theday.com

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(c)2016 The Day (New London, Conn.)

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