JEFFERSON CITY -- Missouri Attorney General Christ Koster says the state will receive $1.5 million as part of a settlement with a pharmaceutical company.
AstraZeneca was accused of marketing its psychiatric drug Seroquel for unapproved uses, including treatment of insomnia and Alzheimer's disease. The drug is approved to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.
More than three dozen other states were involved in the three-year investigation into AstraZeneca’s marketing activities.
Besides Alzheimer's and insomnia, the company promoted Seroquel to treat pediatric and geriatric populations for other medical conditions such as dementia, anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder.
“The public has a right to trust that the claims a pharmaceutical company makes about its drugs are honest and accurate,” Koster said in a press release. “This settlement will make other companies think twice before resorting to deceiving and misleading consumers.”
AstraZeneca has denied the allegation but says it agreed to the $68.5 million settlement with 37 states to move forward with its business.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the settlement ends the investigation. He says the monetary settlement will make other pharmaceutical companies think twice about promoting drugs for unapproved uses.
The settlement requires AstraZeneca to post its payments to physicians on a website; not give financial incentives to marketing and sales personnel for off-label marketing; and refrain from promoting Seroquel to providers who are unlikely to prescribe it for an FDA-approved used.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG