AstraZeneca will pay federal and state governments $520 million to settle charges that it illegally marketed its antipsychotic drug quetiapine (Seroquel). It's the largest settlement of its kind, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Quetiapine is only approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The Justice Department contends that AstraZeneca marketed quetiapine to physicians (particularly those who do not treat the approved conditions) for the following unapproved uses: treatment of aggression, Alzheimer disease, anger management, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar maintenance, dementia, depression, mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleeplessness.
The government alleges that AstraZeneca promoted these uses by paying doctors to serve as authors of ghostwritten research articles, to travel to resort locales to "advise" the company about marketing strategies, and to give promotional lectures to other clinicians.
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