Johnson & Johnson paid millions in kickbacks to Omnicare, False Claims suit alleges

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a False Claims Act suit against Johnson & Johnson and two subsidiaries, arguing that they paid millions in kickbacks to nursing home pharmacy supply specialist Omnicare. The DoJ previously settled with Omnicare in November 2009, agreeing to a $98 million settlement that relieved Omnicare of civil liability under the False Claims Act for accepting J&J kickbacks.

In the current complaint, the DoJ asserts that J&J, along with subsidiaries Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc., paid kickbacks to Omnicare to induce the nursing home pharmacy firm to buy and recommend J&J drugs for use in nursing homes. These included anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.

The DoJ alleges that J&J knew Omnicare was reviewing nursing home patient charts at least every month, making recommendations as to which drugs patients should be prescribed. In fact, physicians were apparently accepting Omnicare recommendations more than 80 percent of the time, something J&J knew, the DoJ claims.

The government argues that to get Omnicare and its pharmacists to recommend J&J drugs, it provided kickbacks in a variety of ways, including paying larger rebates when Omnicare boosted use of J&J drugs; paying Omnicare millions for "data" which was largely not provided; and offering Omnicare "grants" and "educational funding," the true purpose of which was to induce Omnicare to recommend J&J drugs.

Stephen Pierce is offering his book "Make Real Money on the Internet" absolutely free! your copy today!!

Johnson & Johnson expands voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Pain caplets

Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol Arthritis Pain caplets, is expanding a voluntary recall of the product because of consumer complaints of a strange, moldy smell that has caused nausea and other ailments.

The health care company, based in New Brunswick, N.J., is now recalling all 100-count bottles of the arthritis caplets with the red E-Z Open Cap. Last month, Johnson & Johnson recalled five lots of the pain medicine after consumers complained of a mildew-like odor from the pills that produced nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea.

The pills’ musty odor comes from trace amounts of a chemical known as 2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole, according to the company, which is believed to be from the breakdown of another chemical in wooden pallets used to transport and store the drugs.

To date, the health complaints have been “temporary and nonserious,” according to a press release by McNeil Consumer Health Care, the division of J&J that sells Tylenol, although the health effects of the chemical have not been studied.Johnson & Johnson will move production of the caplets to a new facility and return the product to the market by January.

Consumers are advised to stop using the product and call the company at (888) 222-6036 for a refund.

In September, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled certain lots of Children's and Infants' Tylenol as a "precautionary measure" over concerns of a potential manufacturing problem.

Work From Home: Just pay $1 for one month coaching from world's #1 internet marketeer, Stephen Pierce