Arkansas judge fines Johnson & Johnson $1.1B in Risperdal case

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – An Arkansas judge has fined Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary more than $1.1 billion after a jury found the companies downplayed and hid risks associated with an antipsychotic drug.

Judge Tim Fox found nearly 240,000 violations under Arkansas' Medicaid-fraud law over Risperdal. Each violation came with a $5,000 fine, setting the total penalty at more than $1.1 billion.

Arkansas sued Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2007 over the drug.

Fox issued an additional $11 million fine in the Wednesday ruling for more than 4,500 violations under the state's deceptive practices act.

Previous Risperdal verdicts against J&J include a $327 million civil penalty in South Carolina.

Texas reached a $158 million settlement with Janssen in January.