Drug-maker Cephalon, Inc. will pay $6.15 million to settle allegations that it illegally marketed several drugs for unapproved uses, causing serious side effects in some patients in Connecticut. The state will also get an estimated $1 million to $2 million from the company’s previously announced federal settlement costing the company $425 million. The company promoted Actiq to doctors for nearly any chronic pain, though the FDA approved it mainly for severe cancer pain. Gabitril, approved for epilepsy, was “aggressively pitched” to treat psychiatric problems and neuropathic pain according to the suit. In addition, the sleep disorder drug Provigil was marketed for multiple sclerosis, depression and adult attention deficit disorder.
The “off-label” use of these drugs led to addiction, seizures, respiratory depression, serious skin rashes and other side effects. Cephalon denied any wrongdoing in the Connecticut settlement and said that $3.8 million of the settlement would go to the state Department of Public Health to fund cancer initiatives, $200,000 will fund an electronic prescription monitoring program and the rest will go to the state’s general fund.