A jury has determined that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary downplayed and hid risks associated with the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, in Arkansas’ billion-dollar lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
It took the 12-person jury three hours to return its findings after hearing 10 days of testimony. The economics of the case were not provided to the panel, said Businessweek, which noted that both Janssen and Johnson & Johnson face dozens of similar Risperdal lawsuits in federal court and in other state courts.
The Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said he pursued the case to protect consumers from “fraud and deceptive trade practices.”
“Today, an Arkansas jury confirmed that Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals lied to patients and doctors because they cared more about profits than people,” McDaniel said in a news release after the verdict was announced.
Jansen maintained that it did not break the law, pointing out that the package insert included with the medication was approved the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
It is expected that Janssen Pharmaceuticals will appeal the verdict.