AG Zoeller: $1.3M in settlement funds to be directed to Rx abuse education, awareness
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that Indiana and 47 other states and the District of Columbia have reached a $71 million settlement agreement with global pharmaceutical company Amgen accused of deceptive marketing. As part of the agreement, Indiana will receive $1.3 million, which Zoeller said will be directed toward continued public awareness of and education about prescription drug abuse.
The Attorney General’s complaint that was filed in conjunction with the complaints and consent judgments of the other states accuses Amgen of making misrepresentations and unlawfully promoting two medications, Aranesp and Enbrel, which are used to treat anemia and plaque psoriasis respectively.
“In my position representing Indiana’s consumers, it is important to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable if they are skirting laws in the marketing of their prescription drugs,” Zoeller said. “This major national settlement will help deter future unlawful marketing, and also gives Indiana the opportunity to continue funding critical awareness and education efforts to reduce the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in our state and direct people toward treatment options.â€
Zoeller is creator and co-chair of the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, which is comprised of about 120 members statewide including doctors, pharmacists, health officials, treatment providers and law enforcement all committed to reducing prescription drug abuse in Indiana.
Zoeller made the settlement announcement today at Centerstone treatment facility in Bloomington alongside fellow Task Force members including Linda Grove-Paul, Vice President of Recovery and Innovation at Centerstone.
“Drug abuse continues to ravage too many in our communities and we must do more to raise awareness of the dangers of addiction, the warning signs of abuse and treatment options for struggling Hoosiers,†Grove-Paul said. “Especially with prescription drug abuse, the victims are all around us and need our help.â€
Zoeller said the settlement funds will go toward efforts including prescription drug take-back programs, Naloxone (opioid overdose medication) programs for first responders, mental health and addiction treatment services and continuation of the public education program through www.BitterPill.in.gov. More information about the Indiana Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force and resources for the public are available at www.BitterPill.in.gov.Â
Amgen settlement details
The complaints filed today by the attorneys general accuse Amgen of violating state consumer protection laws by:
- Promoting Aranesp to treat anemia caused by cancer even though it lacked reliable scientific evidence to substantiate such use and despite knowing of studies that found increased death and possible tumor stimulation in cancer patients receiving Aranesp or similar drugs. Aranesp has never been FDA approved to treat anemia caused by cancer. A 2007 study found patients receiving Aranesp for the treatment of anemia caused by cancer had a 28.5 percent increase in death and no significant reductions in transfusions or improvement in quality of life.
- Promoting Aranesp to treat anemia at dosing frequencies longer than the FDA approved label without reliable scientific evidence to substantiate the extended dosing frequencies.
- Promoting Enbrel for mild plaque psoriasis despite Enbrel only being approved by the FDA to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.
The consent judgments, also filed today, require Amgen to reform its marketing and promotional practices and bar Amgen from making claims that are false, misleading or deceptive in promoting Enbrel or any drug in the same class as Aranesp or representing that these drugs have qualities or benefits that they do not.
Zoeller thanked Deputy Attorney General Luminita Nodit for her work on this case.
In 2012, Indiana reached a separate $793,000 settlement with Amgen for Medicaid fraud and illegal off-label marketing, also involving Aranesp, Enbrel and other Amgen drugs. More information about this prior settlement can be found here.
