A $71 Million Dollar Settlement was Reached with Amgen

Attorney General Tim Fox and 48 other state attorney generals have reached a $71 million settlement with Amgen after there were allegations that the company promoted biologic medications Aranes and Enbrel.

"A few things were alleged, they promoted Aranes for dosing frequencies longer than the FDA approved," Spokeswoman Anastasia Burton said. "They also promoted Aranes for an anemia caused by cancer without having FDA approval. They also promoted Enbrel for mild plaque psoriasis even though it was only FDA approved to treat chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis."

Burton says that a large chunk of the money will be used by the Office of Consumer Protection for further consumer protection activities.

"Our settlement ensures that Amgen won’t engage in unfair or deceptive promotions of its products to Montana patients,"Burton said. "It also means that our share of settlement is a little over $756,000 which will come to our Office of Consumer Protection."