DoJ joins off-label suit against J&J
Executive Summary
The Department of Justice has intervened in two whistleblower suits claiming Scios and parent Johnson & Johnson marketed Natrecor (nesiritide) for off-label use. The drug was approved in 2001 for treatment of acute heart failure and DoJ says Scios shortly thereafter began an aggressive campaign marketing it for scheduled, serial outpatient infusions for patients with less severe heart failure. J&J acquired Scios in 2003. Former Scios sales managers filed separate False Claim Act suits against Scios and J&J in the Northern District of California