The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston filed a motion to compel the soon-to-be CEO of Johnson & Johnson, Alex Gorsky, to give sworn testimony in a case alleging that Johnson & Johnson paid Omnicare Inc. millions of dollars in kickbacks to encourage the sale of its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.  Mr. Gorsky served as vice president of sales and later as president of Janssen, the J&J subsidiary that sells Risperdal, during the period the kickbacks were allegedly paid.  According to the government, as former VP of sales, Gorsky is likely to be familiar with Johnson & Johnson’s relationship with Omnicare, the company’s biggest Risperdal customer, as well as with the company’s alleged decision to withhold information from Omnicare regarding the potential risks associated with use of Risperdal by elderly dementia patients.

According to the government, Johnson & Johnson paid kickbacks to Omnicare in the form of rebates, educational grants, and payments for marketing data and failed to report such payments to the government, allowing the company to avoid paying rebates to Medicaid.  The lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act by a whistleblower in 2003; the federal government has since intervened.

Read the entire article, “J&J’s Gorsky Should Be Forced to Testify in Suit, U.S. Says”