Eli Lilly fined nearly $1.5B in drug marketing case

[DainBramaged]

Eli Lilly and Company, the giant American drug company, agreed to pay nearly $1.5 billion in fines for marketing one of its medicines for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The sum includes a criminal fine of $515 million, which the Justice Department called "largest criminal fine for an individual corporation ever imposed in a United States criminal prosecution."

The company will also pay up to $800 million in a civil settlement with the federal government and the states, and forfeit $100 million in assets, the Justice Department said in its statement, for total penalties of $1.415 billion.

The punishment stems from what the Justice Department calls "off-label promotion" of the drug Zyprexa - marketing the drug for uses not cleared by the FDA.

Eli Lilly (LLY, Fortune 500) had promoted the drug as a treatment for dementia, including Alzheimer's dementia in elderly people - for which it was never approved, the statement said.

The company pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge as part of the settlement, it said in a statement.

"Even though the company disagrees with and does not admit to the civil allegations, the company has agreed to settle the dispute," Eli Lilly's statement said.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/15/news/companies/eli_lilly/index.htm

[DainBramaged]

1. Let's talk about something silly instead.

:crazy: