JNJ Hit With Lawsuit Alleging They Paid Bribes Which Cost American Military Lives In Theater: Terrorism

NBC news
Ken Dilanian and Carol E. Lee
Oct 17, 2017

WASHINGTON — A group of American veterans filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against U.S. and European drug companies and medical device makers, accusing them of supporting an Iran-backed Iraqi militia that killed and wounded hundreds of Americans.

The suit is filed under a law that allows Americans injured by terrorism overseas to seek civil damages. The more than 100 plaintiffs include injured U.S. Iraq war veterans and their families. The defendants are either parent companies or subsidiaries of AstraZeneca plc (AZN); Johnson & Johnson (JNJ); Pfizer Inc. (PFE); Roche Holding AG (RHHBY); and the General Electric Company (GE).

The 203-page lawsuit accuses the companies of paying bribes to officials of Iraq's health ministry that benefited the Mahdi Army, an Iranian-backed militia that the suit says worked closely with Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.


It's a lengthy and detailed report, so read it in full at the link. 


Here's the lawsuit.

AZ Settles With Kentucky for $5.5 Million Illegal Seroquel Promotion

Kentucky.gov has;
Attorney General Conway Announces $5.5 Million Settlement With Global Drug Maker AstraZeneca

Thursday, 02, 07, 2013

Shelley Catharine Johnson
Deputy Communications Director
502-696-5659 (office)

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Offices of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control and Consumer Protection today announced a $5.5 million settlement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP to resolve allegations of off-label marketing of the atypical antipsychotic drug Seroquel. AstraZeneca, headquartered in London, England, is a global pharmaceutical manufacturer operating in more than 100 countries.

The settlement resolves allegations that AstraZeneca illegally marketed Seroquel for uses the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not approved as being safe and effective. The FDA has only approved Seroquel for the treatment of schizophrenia and various bipolar disorders in adults.

“I am pleased that we have reached this settlement and are recovering millions of dollars for a vital state program and for taxpayers,” General Conway said. “We’ve sent a clear message today that Kentucky will not tolerate drug companies that put profits ahead of patient care.”

Under the settlement, the Kentucky Medicaid program will receive more than $3.3 million.  The remainder of the proceeds will be distributed on a pro-rata basis to the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities for certain treatment conducted at facilities across the Commonwealth, and to the Kentucky Department of Corrections, the Department for Juvenile Justice, the University of Kentucky Medical Center and the University of Louisville Hospital.  The pro-rata distribution is based on the off-label utilization at the respective agencies.

AstraZeneca illegally promoted Seroquel’s off-label uses in children and adolescents well before establishing that the drug was not safe or effective for any use by those that age.  AstraZeneca also promoted Seroquel for off-label uses for the elderly, without establishing its safety or effectiveness for elderly individuals. 

As a result of AstraZeneca’s unlawful marketing and promotion of Seroquel, utilization of the drug by Kentucky Medicaid recipients dramatically increased. By August, 2004 more than 25 percent of Seroquel users in Kentucky were under 18 years old and approximately 15 percent were older than 65.  As part of its marketing strategy, AstraZeneca sought to induce psychiatrists to switch from prescribing competing drugs for their patients to prescribing Seroquel.  AstraZeneca withheld or failed to disclose negative information concerning the effectiveness of Seroquel, and withheld or failed to adequately disclose the risks associated with using Seroquel.

Medicaid Fraud Recoveries

Since taking office in January, 2008, General Conway’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control has recovered or been awarded more than $292 million for the state and federal Medicaid programs.  These cases range from lawsuits and settlements against pharmaceutical companies to cases against individual providers.

The Attorney General’s Tip Line for reporting allegations of Medicaid fraud is 1-877-228-7384.

Thank You Kentucky.gov, AG Conway, and Ms. Johnson

Sister's (Seroquel) Suicide Triggers Lawsuit Against VA

Army Times has;
Sister's Suicide Triggers Lawsuit Against VA

By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 6, 2012 18:38:38 EST

On Veterans Day 2010, former Navy corpsman Kelli Marie Grese, 37, swallowed an unknown quantity of the antipsychotic Seroquel — her fourth suicide attempt in eight months using the same drug.

That time, she succeeded. She never regained consciousness.

Her death is the subject of a $5 million lawsuit filed against the Veterans Affairs Department in the U.S. District Court in Newport News, Va., alleging VA physicians failed to monitor her medications and prescribed them excessively.

Her twin sister, Darla Grese, also a former Navy corpsman, filed the suit, saying physicians at Hampton VA Medical Center, Va., ignored her pleas to quit doling out prescriptions to her sister, a known addict deemed at “moderate risk for suicide.

Thank You Army Times and Ms Kime

Continue reading Army Times coverage here.

And antipsychotics are sold to Prevent Suicide. And Corpsman Grese tried to take her own life 4 times in 8 months while she was Taking an antipsychotic.

We keep telling you the drugs are worse than just useless.

They're lethal.

AstraZeneca Rues Loss Of Drug (Seroquel IR) Exclusivity

The Guardian.uk has;
AstraZeneca Rues Loss Of Drug Exclusivity
Posted by

Julia Kollewe

Thursday 25 October 2012 07.53 EDTguardian.co.uk

Patent expiry continues to haunt AstraZeneca, Britain's second-largest drugmaker, which reported a 19% slide in third-quarter sales on Thursday.

The company said it was hurt by the loss of exclusivity for Seroquel IR, its bestselling antipsychotic treatment, as well as Atacand for high blood pressure, antibiotic Merrem, cholesterol drug Crestor in Canada and heartburn pill Nexium in Europe. Revenues fell to $6.7bn (£4.15bn) in the third quarter from $8.2bn a year ago.

New boss Pascal Soriot, who joined from Roche and suspended share buybacks on his first day in the job at the beginning of the month, said buying in new treatments would be an important way of rebuilding the pipeline. He added that the recently launched heart drug Brilinta had the potential to do far better.

Continue reading Guardian coverage here.

Thank You Guardian.uk and Ms Kollowe

The IR suffix stands for Immediate Release as opposed to the XR which stands for Extended Release.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00926393

http://lamplightersoftware.com/dsm.php

Use the following search tool to view a summary of adverse reactions experienced by patients taking psychiatric drugs, culled from Individual Safety Reports (ISRs) submitted to the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (MedWatch) between January of 2004 and September of 2009. 

Quetiapine		Reported By
Adverse Reaction	Cases	MD	CN	OT	PH	LW	NR
Suicidal Ideations	479	103	106	72	13	7	266
Attempted Suicides	325	142	33	86	15	7	142
Completed Suicides	300	105	21	146	57	1	39
Deaths Not From Suicide	1,274	450	95	312	38	346	869
Homicidal Ideations	31	6	2	7	1	0	19
Homicides	16	0	6	2	0	0	9
Hypomania/Mania	123	40	26	24	5	0	40
Heart Disease	473	151	42	98	23	9	303
Movement Disorders	1,561	614	258	381	82	13	508
Birth Defects	39	19	3	12	2	0	16
Premature Births	11	4	0	8	1	0	2
Prenatal/Neonatal Deaths	38	19	5	18	1	0	10

Seroquel Loses Patent Protection: Revenues DROP 86.23%

And just when you thought we'd Never have a cheery thought for you:

RedOrbit has;

Latest Drug Sales Data: Loss Of Patent Protection Has Significant Effect

"Top Five Sales Losses, Q2 2012

    Drug Name    Loss ($000)             % Change (previous
                                         quarter)
    ---------    ----------              ------------------
    Seroquel                 -$1,001,283                   -86.23%
    --------                 -----------                   ------
    Plavix                     -$686,059                   -42.33%
    ------                     ---------                   ------
    Lipitor                    -$261,418                   -31.09%
    -------                    ---------                   ------
    atorvastatin               -$168,400                   -17.68%
    ------------               ---------                   ------
    budesonide                  -$64,282                   -24.99%
    ----------                  --------                   ------

And for those of you who just Can't hear it often enough, here's drugs.com, with a Graph.

http://www.drugs.com/stats/seroquel

And Who could forget This hit?

http://lamplightersoftware.com/dsm.php

Quetiapine		Reported By
Adverse Reaction	Cases	MD	CN	OT	PH	LW	NR
Suicidal Ideations	479	103	106	72	13	7	266
Attempted Suicides	325	142	33	86	15	7	142
Completed Suicides	300	105	21	146	57	1	39
Deaths Not From Suicide	1,274	450	95	312	38	346	869
Homicidal Ideations	31	6	2	7	1	0	19
Homicides	16	0	6	2	0	0	9
Hypomania/Mania	123	40	26	24	5	0	40
Heart Disease	473	151	42	98	23	9	303
Movement Disorders	1,561	614	258	381	82	13	508
Birth Defects	39	19	3	12	2	0	16
Premature Births	11	4	0	8	1	0	2
Prenatal/Neonatal Deaths	38	19	5	18	1	0	10

Or This one?

US 18C95 Sec 1958: Murder For Hire

This Racketeering Thing, you know, IS the responsibility of Congress to enforce. Since the FDA is subject to implementing the will and Black Letter, Clearly Expressed Intent of Congress, and Congress prohibited the use of Interstate Commerce Facilities in the Commission of Murder For Hire, ...... 

You might want to ask Your Candidate at a Stump Speech, what they intend to Do about it, beyond Ducking the Question and the Issue completely. 

Because NONE of these drugs should even BE on the market, at all, under Any circumstance.