Pharma Co. Settlement Nets $4.7M

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's office has reached an agreement with Pennsylvania drug maker Cephalon Inc. over allegations of improper off-label marketing.

Under the agreement, Cephalon has paid $4.7 million to the Massachusetts Medicaid Program. The settlement is part of a larger agreement with several states. Altogether, the company will pay state Medicaid programs $248 million and will plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of misbranding and pay a $50 million fine.

The settlement resolves claims that the company engaged in improper off-label marketing of three products. It allegedly marketed a sleep drug, Provigil, for conditions including depression, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis; marketed seizure drug Gabitril for anxiety, insomnia and pain and marketed Actiq, a pain medication for opioid-tolerant patients, to treat pain from migraines, sickle-cell disease and injuries.