MASSDEVICE.COM ON CALL — Federal prosecutors want a federal judge to compel incoming Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Alex Gorsky to testify in a kickbacks lawsuit accusing the healthcare giant of paying nursing home pharmacy giant Omnicare (NYSE:OCR) to use its drugs over the cheaper offerings of its rivals.
J&J "should not be permitted to hide the ball ," according to a motion filed to compel Gorsky’s testimony in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. The civil lawsuit alleges that J&J paid Omnicare to boost sales of its Risperdal anti-psychosis drug.
The New Brunswick, N.J.-based conglomerate tapped Gorsky for the corner office in February, to replace retiring CEO Bill Weldon as of April 26, after stints as vice president of sales & marketing and then president of its Janssen pharmaceuticals arm during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s that knowledge the feds are after, according to court documents.
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Johnson & Johnson has refused to make Gorsky available for deposition, arguing that the move is "nothing more than a fishing expedition."
"J&J is now refusing to prepare and produce a witness to answer questions regarding the facts of that defense, arguing that because the United States has deposed 2 in-house J&J lawyers and 1 outside counsel, none of whom was prepared to answer questions on behalf of J&J, it is too burdensome to provide a witness who can speak on behalf of the company," according to federal prosecutors. "With respect to Mr. Gorsky, because the documents produced during discovery show that Mr. Gorsky has relevant knowledge concerning Janssen’s marketing to Omnicare, including information that Janssen failed to disclose to Omnicare concerning Risperdal, a Janssen drug, and knowledge about various allegedly illegal payments that J&J made to induce Omnicare to purchase and recommend Risperdal, the United States is entitled to take his deposition."
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