Attorney General McDaniel Announces Two Settlements With Abbott Labs

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced two separate settlements with Abbott Laboratories regarding allegations of illegal off-label marketing of its drug Depakote.

As part of the two settlements — which total $1.6 billion — Arkansas will receive $3.03 million. McDaniel said today (May 8 ) that $2.6 million of that money will be earmarked to the Medicaid Trust Fund.

“We are holding Abbott Laboratories responsible for wrongfully marketing Depakote for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” McDaniel said. “Actions like these have a detrimental effect on our state’s Medicaid program. I applaud the states and federal government for working together to reach this settlement.”

In the first settlement, a consumer protection-based pharmaceutical agreement, Arkansas will receive $1.43 million in settlement funds from the Illinois-based company. The state joined 44 other states and the District of Columbia in announcing a $100 million settlement with Abbott Laboratories.

Depakote is approved for treatment of seizure disorders, mania associated with bipolar disorder and prophylaxis of migraines, but the attorneys general alleged Abbott marketed the drug for treating unapproved uses, including schizophrenia, agitated dementia and autism.

In the second settlement, McDaniel joined 48 other states and the District of Columbia to settle criminal and civil Medicaid fraud allegations against Abbott. This $1.5 billion settlement is the second largest recovery from a pharmaceutical company in a single civil and criminal global resolution.