The FDA has approved Forest Laboratories' antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) for use in children and adolescents, even as the federal government and 11 states have filed a lawsuit against the company for illegally pushing the drug on kids.
The federal government has accused Forest of bribing pediatricians to prescribe Lexapro and a related drug, Celexa (citalopram), to treat depression in children, even though such use had not been approved by the FDA at the time. The government also claims that Forest concealed the results of studies showing the drugs to be no more effective than a placebo.
"By knowingly and actively promoting these antidepressants for off-label pediatric use without disclosing the results of the negative pediatric study and by paying kickbacks, Forest caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act," said the federal complaint, issued on Feb. 25.
Read more...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment it is much appreciated.