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The US Department of Justice filed civil charges against Forest Laboratories in a federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday, alleging that the company illegally marketed antidepressants Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) for off-label paediatric use, and paid “kickbacks to induce physicians” to prescribe the treatments. Forest shares dropped 5.3 percent on Wednesday.

Government authorities claim that Forest promoted the antidepressants for paediatric use, but failed to disclose study results demonstrating that Celexa was ineffective in children. The complaint also alleges that the company violated federal anti-kickback laws by offering doctors cash payments disguised as grants and consulting fees, as well as expensive meals and other valuables in order to boost prescriptions of the antidepressants.

Frank Murdolo, Forest’s vice president of investor relations, stated that “we’ll look at the complaint, see what’s there. We’ll see what the next steps are.”

Source: FirstWord

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