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Federal prosecutors say that a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist became a "star spokesman" in helping a pharmaceutical company promote its drugs for treating depressed children, even though the medications were not approved for pediatric use by the US Food and Drug Administration.
In a complaint unsealed last week in US District Court in Boston, prosecutors allege that New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc. illegally marketed the drugs Celexa and Lexapro for use in children by paying kickbacks, including lavish meals and cash payments disguised as grants and consulting fees, to induce doctors to prescribe the drugs. They also say the company misled doctors and the public by failing to disclose the results of a negative study.
In the 34-page complaint, prosecutors said that from 1999 to 2006, Dr. Jeffrey Bostic, director of school psychiatry at the hospital, gave more than 350 Forest-sponsored talks and presentations in 28 states, many of which addressed pediatric use of Celexa and Lexapro.
The government said that Bostic became "Forest's star spokesman in the promotion of Celexa and Lexapro for pediatric use" and that the company paid him more than $750,000 between 2000 and 2006 for his presentations. The complaint quotes an unnamed Forest sales representative as saying, "Dr. Bostic is the man when it comes to child psych."
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Federal prosecutors say that a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist became a "star spokesman" in helping a pharmaceutical company promote its drugs for treating depressed children, even though the medications were not approved for pediatric use by the US Food and Drug Administration.
In a complaint unsealed last week in US District Court in Boston, prosecutors allege that New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc. illegally marketed the drugs Celexa and Lexapro for use in children by paying kickbacks, including lavish meals and cash payments disguised as grants and consulting fees, to induce doctors to prescribe the drugs. They also say the company misled doctors and the public by failing to disclose the results of a negative study.
In the 34-page complaint, prosecutors said that from 1999 to 2006, Dr. Jeffrey Bostic, director of school psychiatry at the hospital, gave more than 350 Forest-sponsored talks and presentations in 28 states, many of which addressed pediatric use of Celexa and Lexapro.
The government said that Bostic became "Forest's star spokesman in the promotion of Celexa and Lexapro for pediatric use" and that the company paid him more than $750,000 between 2000 and 2006 for his presentations. The complaint quotes an unnamed Forest sales representative as saying, "Dr. Bostic is the man when it comes to child psych."
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