Defective drug Seroquel maker fined $520 million for illegal marketing

The U.S. Department of Justice has fined London-based AstraZeneca, manufacturer of antipsychotic drug Seroquel, $520 million for marketing the defective drug illegally, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

Paying that amount will settle federal investigations into AstraZeneca's practice of allegedly paying kickbacks to physicians in order to sell the drugs to patients for unapproved purposes. The schizophrenia drug was illegally promoted for the elderly, for children, for military veterans and for prisoners. What AstraZeneca failed to inform such users was that its drug could heighten the risk of diabetes.

Three other pharmaceutical giants have similarly been exposed in recent years for illegal marketing of antipsychotic drugs, which have become a hugely profitable realm for drug manufacturers. Others were Pfizer for painkiller Bextra and other drugs; Eli Lilly for antipsychotic drug Zyprexa; and Bristol-Myers Squibb for antipsychotic drug Abilify.

By paying $520 million, AstraZeneca avoids admitting guilt. In fact, the company officially denies the allegations and claims innocence.

Yet the massive fine it agreed to pay suggests otherwise, as do 25,000 civil lawsuits which remain against the manufacturer of defective drug Seroquel, in cases just now starting to reach trial. Such defective drug lawsuits contend that AstraZeneca did not alert patients of Seroquel risks.

For children, those risks have included rapid weight gain, with side effects as severe as death. For the elderly, the risks have included dementia. In each case, the drug was being aggressively marketed for uses beyond what had been endorsed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Such practices are illegal.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by the antipsychotic drug Seroquel, alert a defective drug lawyer or attorney with Jim S. Adler & Associates. Massive pharmaceutical companies should not be allowed to reap riches at the expense of the health -- and lives -- of innocent Americans.