Attorney General's News Release

January 5, 2000

Nixon obtains $255,000 from pharmaceutical company that admitted it inappropriately marketed growth hormone

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon announced today that Missouri has received $255,361 from pharmaceutical manufacturer Genentech Inc. in connection with a four-year probe in the company's marketing practices of the human growth hormone Protropin.

Last April, Genentech pled guilty to federal charges that it had actively promoted Protropin for uses that the Food and Drug Administration had not approved. The company paid a $30 million fine to the federal government and $20 million in restitution to various government agencies, including state Medicaid programs.

The Medicaid fraud control unit, established within the Attorney General's Office by Nixon in 1994, enabled the state Medicaid program to receive 150 percent the amount it paid for unapproved uses of the drug. Besides the state share of $255,000, the federal government obtained $344,411 because of Missouri's participation.

In the mid-1980s, the FDA approved Protropin for dispensing to children whose growth was stunted because they lacked necessary growth hormones. Federal law prohibits pharmaceutical manufacturers from promoting their product for alternate uses, although doctors may choose to prescribe drugs for unapproved purposes.

Genentech admitted that it actively and inappropriately marketed the product to physicians by suggesting that they dispense it to children who did not suffer from hormone deficiency, but were merely growing at a lesser rate than their peers as the result of genetic or other factors.

The National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units facilitated the settlement agreements between Genentech and the state Medicaid programs.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818