What is the price of company negligence? For AstraZeneca, a British drug maker, it’s over a billion dollars that they owe to the U.S government and thousands of victims. The drug maker was held liable for the marketing and release of an antipsychotic pharmaceutical drug called Seroquel. According to the settlement, consumers were misled about the side effects and many developed diabetes that will affect them for a lifetime.
The Seroquel catastrophe racked up 28, 700 liability lawsuits. AstraZeneca has managed to settle the majority of cases but an additional 250 are still outstanding. In light of the pending cases, AstraZeneca added $55 million to the previously approved $592 million they reserved. This is in addition to the $520 million they paid to the federal government for the lengthy investigation into the marketing campaigns for Seroquel.
The federal investigation unveiled that the company had serious violations that included undercover deals and paid kickbacks to doctors.
Some physicians were paid to endorse the drug for unapproved use by:
- Children
- Veterans
- Elderly
- Inmates.
Additionally, some veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD were prescribed Seroquel as a treatment. A few have even died in connection to the drug.
The company’s legal debt is expected to amount to $1.9 billion in fees and settlements, most of which is covered by their insurance policy. The profit from less than 5 months of Seroquel sales is enough to satisfy the company’s legal burdens for these cases.
Many question whether the $1.9 billion price tag is large enough. Pfizer and Eli Lilly have both received more expensive judgments in the billions when they misrepresented pharmaceutical drugs Bextra and Zyprexa respectively.
Although AstraZeneca remained cooperative in the investigation they did not admit to any wrongdoing. As a part of their agreement with the federal government, they signed a corporate agreement of integrity that includes a probationary period.
So what is the future of AstraZeneca in the United States? It’s unclear as this country is one of the largest markets for the cholesterol drug, Crestor. However, with discovery of underhanded techniques that the company has used for over a decade, the company must make some adjustments before they can regain consumer trust.
Pharmaceutical drug companies have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Any misrepresentation or undisclosed details violates the consumer’s right to know of associated risks. Contact the attorneys at Parker McDonald Law if you feel like your rights have been abused.
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