State to get $3.3M from drug settlement

Nevada will receive a $3.23 million check as its share of the $181 million settlement with a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.The suit claiming unfair and deceptive practices was filed by 37 attorneys general across the nation over Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ marketing of the antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega. The suit specifically claimed that Janssen marketed Risperdal for unapproved and off-label uses.“Nevadans have a right to know the risks presented by atypical antipsychotic drugs,” said Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.The company agreed to change how it promotes the drugs and to refrain from false, misleading or deceptive promotion of the drugs. That includes not marketing the drugs for uses the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved.While a doctor can prescribe a drug for non-approved uses, the pharmaceutical company can’t legally market drugs for anything other than approved uses.