SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah will receive more than $4 million from a nationwide settlement with medical device and drugmaker Abbott Laboratories.
Abbot has agreed to pay $1.5 billion million over the illegal off-label marketing of its anti-seizure drug Depakote. The settlement is dispersed between 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Utah's portion of the settlement includes $3.1 million because of Medicaid fraud and $1 million for consumer education.
Depakote is an anti-seizure and mood-stabilizing drug prescribed for bipolar disorder. However, attorneys general from across the country alleged that Abbott Laboratories marketed the drug for unapproved uses, including treatment of schizophrenia, agitated dementia, and autism.
Under the settlement, Illinois-based Abbott also will be restricted from marketing the drug for off-label uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
