Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $158 million to settle a Medicaid fraud lawsuit in Texas. The lawsuit accused J & J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals of giving state officials kickbacks in exchange for putting the antipsychotic Risperdal on an approved list for Medicaid recipients. The suit also claimed that Janssen marketed the drug as being safe and cost-effective, despite being linked to an increased risk of stroke and death in elderly dementia patients. Risperdal is approved only to treat adult schizophrenia. Johnson & Johnson was recently ordered to pay $327 million in South Carolina and $258 million in Louisiana in similar Rispedal lawsuits.
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