A federal judge has sentenced Forest Pharmaceuticals to pay a criminal fine of $150 million and forfeit $14 million in assets for its guilty plea last November to felony and misdemeanor charges. These involved obstructing an FDA regulatory inspection, distributing Levothroid when it was an unapproved new drug, and illegally promoting Celexa for use in children and adolescents.
The Justice Department says the sentencing was the final component of a global resolution totaling more than $313 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations against Forest.
In September 2010, Forest Laboratories and Forest Pharmaceuticals entered a civil settlement to resolve False Claims Act charges involving Levothroid, Celexa and Lexapro. As part of the civil settlement, Forest agreed to pay over $149 million, including more than $88 million to the federal government and more than $60 million to states.
From the May 01, 2011 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
