Senators probe J&J; payments
Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) have asked Johnson & Johnson to provide information about its payments to physicians as part of a widening investigation into drug makers’ influence. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company said the two powerful lawmakers were probing its ties to psychiatrists.
Johnson & Johnson markets Risperdal, which is prescribed for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The senators also requested information about J&J;’s relationship with doctors who use its Cypher drug-coated stent to prop open arteries, according to a regulatory filing.
In October, Grassley and Kohl questioned Columbia University about cardiology professors who received consulting payments from companies that market stents, including Medtronic Inc., Abbott Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson.
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