LITTLE ROCK — Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced Tuesday that Arkansas and more than 40 other states have joined in separate settlements totaling $1.6 billion with Abbott Laboratories over allegations of illegal off-label marketing of the anti-seizure drug Depakote.
Under two settlements, Arkansas will receive $3.03 million, of which $2.6 million will go to the Medicaid Trust Fund.
In the first settlement involving Arkansas, 44 other states and the District of Columbia, the state will receive $1.43 million from the Illinois-based company.
Depakote is approved for treatment of seizure disorders, mania associated with bipolar disorder and prophylaxis of migraines, but the company, in complaints filed by attorneys general in Arkansas and 44 other states, allegedly marketed the drug for unapproved uses, including schizophrenia, agitated dementia and autism.
In the second settlement, involving Arkansas, 48 other states and the District of Columbia, the state will receive $1.6 million to settle criminal and civil fraud allegations against Abbott.
The company has agreed to plead guilty to misbranding, a misdemeanor under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Abbott also agreed to a five-year probationary period.
“We are holding Abbott Laboratories responsible for wrongfully marketing Depakote for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” McDaniel said in a news release.