High court won't reconsider Risperdal case

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Supreme Court says it will not reconsider its decision to reject a $1.2 billion judgment against a pharmaceutical company accused of improperly marketing an antipsychotic drug.

Justices last month overturned a Pulaski County ruling that favored the state. In a 4-3 decision Thursday, the court turned down a request by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to consider the case again.

McDaniel had said the court was wrong when it said the state misapplied a Medicaid fraud law in its case against New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary over the drug Risperdal.

The state had claimed Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. didn't properly communicate the drug's risks and shouldn't have marketed it for off-label use. The company said there was no fraud and that Arkansas' Medicaid program wasn't harmed.

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