Connecticut Joins $19.5 Million Settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb

The State of Connecticut will receive more than $310,000 as part of a multistate settlement agreement with drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb over there anti-psychotic drug Abilify.

Abilify was approved by the FDA in 2002 for treatment of schizophrenia in adults and since then has been approved for other conditions including some in children.

The states alleged that Bristol-Myers Squibb promoted Abilify for symptoms consistent with dementia and Alzheimer's disease despite lake of FDA approval. They also alleged that the company marketed Abilify for children suffering from schizophrenia before it was approved by the FDA for children.

"In 2006, the FDA issued a black-box warning for Abilify stating that elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis who are treated with antipsychotic drugs have an increased risk of death," The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General said in a statement.

The majority of Connecticut's settlement portion will be deposited into the state's general fund. $15,000 will be deposited in the Department of Consumer Protection's Consumer Protection Fund and another $15,000 to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Fund.

"Companies are prohibited under state law from making false or deceptive claims about the products they produce and sell," said Attorney General Jepsen. "In the case of drug companies, the products they create and sell, and the representations they make about those products, have a direct impact on the health and well-being of patients, which makes it all the more important that those representations be truthful."

In addition to Connecticut, and led by the states of Maryland and Kentucky, other state's participating in this settlement include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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