AstraZeneca to Pay $520 Million in Seroquel Settlement

Harrisburg, PAThe state of Pennsylvania will receive $9 million of the $520 million settlement AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical is paying for improperly marketing Seroquel, an anti-psychotic.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said that a state and federal investigation accused the drug maker of marketing Seroquel "off-label" and paying kickbacks to help promote the drug, according to the Pottstown Herald.

The settlement says that from January 2001 to December 2006, AstraZeneca promoted the use and sale of the medication for uses that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

According to Corbett, while it is not illegal for physicians to prescribe medications for uses not approved by the FDA, it is illegal for drug companies to promote such uses.

The settlement will additionally require that the pharmaceutical company enter a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General. This program will monitor the company's sales and marketing procedures.

Seroquel has a number of side effects, including weight gain, diabetes, hyperglycemia and tardive dyskinesia, a condition characterized by involuntary muscle spasms.