Amgen to Pay $71 Million To Settle Illegal Marketing Investigation

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) is required to pay $71 million in order to settle an investigation into the illegal marketing of its drugs Aranesp and Enbrel for uses not approved by the FDA.
According to Time:

Aranesp is an anemia medication that works by stimulating bone marrow production of red blood cells. Enbrel is used to treat multiple conditions, notably chronic and severe plaque psoriasis.
A complaint filed against Amgen said Aranesp was promoted for longer dosing frequencies and for cancer-caused anemia, for which it had neither FDA approval nor scientific proof. Enbrel was promoted for mild cases of plaque psoriasis, despite being only approved for severe cases; it was also advertised to be far more effective than scientifically shown, according to the complaint.
As part of the settlement Amgen will have to change its advertising strategy to exclude it of its current misleading intent and is forbidden from continuing its current claims.

Click here to read the full article on Time.