BATON
ROUGE, LA - Attorney General Jeff Landry
today announced a $13.5 million settlement with Boehringer
Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI) that will bring Louisiana
$207,135.91. The settlement made between all 50 states and the District of
Columbia solves allegations that BIPI engaged in unfair, deceptive, or
misleading practices in its promotion of Micardis®, Aggrenox®, Atrovent®, and
Combivent® by allegedly representing that the prescription drugs had
sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits,
quantities, or qualities that they did not have.
“In order for consumers to know the true benefits and risks of prescription drugs,
pharmaceutical companies must relay correct information to the public,” said
General Landry. “Like we have seen with opioid manufacturers – companies like
BIPI who misrepresent their drugs’ effects jeopardize the health of consumers.
So I am proud of my Public Protection Division for holding accountable those
engaged in these practices.”
BIPI claimed that Aggrenox® was helpful for heart attacks and
congestive heart failure and that it was superior to Plavix® though they had no
evidence to substantiate that claim. They also claimed that Micardis® protected
patients from early morning strokes and heart attacks and that Combivent® could
be used as a first-line treatment for bronchospasms associated with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. Lastly, they stated that Atrovent® and
Combivent® could be used at doses that exceeded the maximum dosage
recommendation in the product labeling and that they were essential for
treatment of COPD.
In order to ensure BIPI is marketing and promoting their items
accurately, the Consent Judgment requires BIPI to:
A copy of the settlement may be found in “More Resources” on this
page.
#