FILE - In this May 2, 2012 file photo, Patricia Krentcil, 44, waits to be arraigned at the Essex County Superior Court in Newark, N.J., where she appeared on charges of endangering her 5-year-old child by taking her into a tanning salon. A grand jury in New Jersey has decided to let Krentcil a woman who gained overnight notoriety as "the tanning mom" bronze away in peace. Prosecutors in Newark said Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 a grand jury refused to indict Patricia Krentcil on a charge she took her young daughter into a tanning booth with her. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
News Summary: NJ drugmaker to pay $45M in fines
Published: 11:10:21 PM, Tue 05 March 2013 UTC
ADMITTING GUILT: Executives of drugmaker Par Pharmaceutical Cos. pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal misbranding, for years of improperly marketing its weight-gain drug for frail nursing home and hospice patients vulnerable to its potentially deadly side effects. The drug, Megace ES, is approved only for AIDS patients.
FINANCIAL PENALTY: The Woodcliff Lake, N.J., company will pay a total of $45 million to resolve criminal and civil charges in the case. It also agreed to increased government monitoring.
BACK STORY: The Justice Department started investigating after four whistleblowers went to attorneys with allegations about misconduct by Par's sales force for the drug.
Tags:
justice department, law_crime, tuesday, news summary, n.j., case, story, total, allegations, company, executives, misconduct, fines, guilt, bergen county, new jersey, financial penalty, whistleblowers, civil charges, par pharmaceutical cos., ribavirin, aids patients, government monitoring, frail nursing home, woodcliff lake, nj drugmaker, weight-gain drug, par pharmaceutical, criminal misbranding, megace es, deadly side effects, hospice patients
