EF Hutton

The Thursday/Monday Syndrome courtesy of Stock Trader's Almanac

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:27:00 +0000

Original Source The Thursday/Monday Syndrome courtesy of Stock Trader's Almanac

As the market is in an extremely precarious place right now we felt it prudent to relay to you the details of the current setup for the old Thursday/Monday Syndrome.

With a penchant for history, a rapier wit and a refreshing sense of humor here’s how the always salient Art Cashin, Director of Floor Operations for UBS Financial Services and a regular markets commentator on CNBC, described this ominous possibility in his daily comments today:

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The Plan to End Alzheimer's Disease by 2020 (Podcast)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 16:21:00 +0000

At the most recent TEDMED conference Rudy Tanzi spoke about the plan to end Alzheimer's disease by 2020.

Rudy Tanzi is one the world's leading Alzheimer's disease research scientist.

Click above to Listen. Please share this podcast with family, friends, support groups, and the Alzheimer's community.

If you don't see the podcast go here.

Original content Rudy Tanzi the Plan to End Alzheimer's Disease by 2020 (Podcast)

Detailed Report on Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:39:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

In the week ending Aug. 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 500,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 488,000. The 4-week moving average was 482,500, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average of 474,500.

Details, comparisons and breakdown at All American Investor

Seven Faces of “The Peril” of Deflation

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:32:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

In this paper I discuss the possibility that the U.S. economy may become enmeshed in a Japanese-style, de‡ationary outcome within the next several years.

To frame the discussion, I rely on an analysis that emphasizes two possible long-run outcomes (steady states) for the economy, one which is consistent with monetary policy as it has typically been implemented in the U.S. in recent years, and one which is consistent with the low nominal interest rate, de‡ationary regime observed in Japan during the same period.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Money Supply, M2, Comparison Chart

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:31:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

billions,
chart,
economics,
FED,
graph,
M2,
money stock,
money supply

M2 includes a broader set of financial assets held principally by households. M2 consists of M1 plus: (1) savings deposits (which include money market deposit accounts, or MMDAs); (2) small-denomination time deposits (time deposits in amounts of less than $100,000); and (3) balances in retail money market mutual funds (MMMFs). Seasonally adjusted M2 is computed by summing savings deposits, small-denomination time deposits, and retail MMMFs, each seasonally adjusted separately, and adding this result to seasonally adjusted M1.

Money Stock, M2, Percent Change

Money Stock, M2, Growth in Billions

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Steve Cook -- The Morning Call - July 23

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:25:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

For the first time in months, volume was actually comparable to that of down days and breadth was strong. Our internal indicator improved. The only negative was the VIX which was down but remained above a critical support level.

Bottom line: I think the odds are that the Market is re-setting itself into a trading range probably defined by 9645-10725, 1009-1149. However, I would like to see some follow through--something that neither the bulls nor the bears have been able to produce in the last months. Further assuming that the new trading range’s boundaries are 9645-10725, 1009-1149 then there is more risk than reward in investing at current price levels.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Roubini on Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:25:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

For the better part of 10 years running, all that glitters has, in fact, been gold. Since 2001, the precious metal has outperformed all of the core asset classes, gaining an average 15.3% per year in dollar terms since January 2001.

The concerns propelling the price of gold specifically are very real and should not be ignored. But is now the time for investors to jump the gold bandwagon?

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Housing Starts New Privately Owned Housing Units Started (Graph)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:03:00 +0000

Trend is still down.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

549,000 housing starts versus 578,00 a month ago, 679,00 two months ago, and 583,000 a year ago.

The most recent housing peak occurred during June, 2006 with starts at 2,273,00.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Median Duration of Unemployment (Chart)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:07:00 +0000

How bad is the current unemployment situation? Duration in weeks.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Steve Cook on Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:51:00 +0000

Good information.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

From Steve Cook at
CJS Research

The price of gold (GLD) traded down last week, touched the lower boundary of an up trend dating from October 2008 and then bounced. It looks like it will open down modestly this morning. All our Portfolios will Add to their GLD position at the Market open. This will bring the size of this position to approximately 9% in each Portfolio.

Employment Situation News Release -- Employment Report June

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Details under the link.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Nonfarm payroll employment fell by 125,000 in June, and the
unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 percent. The decline in
employment reflects a large drop in the number of temporary
workers for Census 2010. The number of jobs in the private
sector edged up (+83,000), due to modest increases in several
industries. Private sector employment has risen by 593,000 so
far in 2010, but in June was 7.9 million below its prerecession
level.

M2, Money Supply a Sobering View (Graph) -- A Look Beyond the Obvious

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:19:00 +0000

Tow different views of money supply, two different stories. This is one reason why the market is so jittery.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

ometimes you have to look beyond the obvious.

Sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious.

The following chart of M2, Money Supply, is "Percent Change from a Year Ago".

As you can see growth is dropping sharply and approaching zero. This helps explain the current jitters in the market and the increasing talk about recession or depression.
The chart below is the more traditional view of M2. Looking at this chart would lead one to believe that money supply is growing robustly.

It is certainly a time to be risk averse in the stock market.

I look at it this way. I would rather be short or out right here. I believe the stock market is going lower.

However, I think we are approaching one of the best long term buying opportunities you will ever see. I wouldn't be in a hurry to LOAD UP.

Time to be patient.

Chinese Bubble Burst

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:45:00 +0000

clipped from econompicdata.blogspot.com

The Conference Board revised its leading economic index for China to show the smallest gain in five months in April, in a release that contributed to the biggest sell-off in Chinese stocks in more than a month.

The gauge of the economy’s outlook compiled by the New York-based research group rose 0.3 percent, less than the 1.7 percent gain it reported June 15. The Conference Board said in an e-mailed statement that the previous reading contained a calculation error for floor space on which construction began.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

A Nobelist’s Energy Pitch for Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:39:00 +0000

clipped from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

A recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics, Richter was a signatory on a letter from 34 Nobel laureates to Obama last year pushing for a big and sustained rise in the federal investment in energy research. (He told me he is unaware of any response from the White House.) He also has written “ Beyond Smoke and Mirrors,” a cogent road map for facing the daunting long-term challenge of cutting emissions of greenhouse gases even as humanity’s growth spurt crests in the next few decades.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

A Nonsurprise Shakes Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:28:00 +0000

clipped from blogs.wsj.com

By Neelabh Chaturvedi

Oddly, well-telegraphed events continue to rattle markets.

This Thursday the European Central Bank’s extraordinary €442 billion 12-month liquidity facility expires. That’s been known for some time, but that hasn’t stopped investors from getting skittish as the day approaches. German bunds are rallying, stocks are selling off and the euro is falling.

In addition, three-month Euribor, a key interbank lending rate, was set at 0.761% Tuesday, its highest level since Sept. 2009, and the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell below 3%, highlighting the nervousness in the market.

“Risk aversion is in the ascendancy. Concerns about the European banking system ahead of the expiration of the ECB 12-month liquidity facility on Thursday is weighing on the market. Fears of a faltering Chinese economy are also creating negative sentiment,” said Markit’s Gavin Nolan.

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Technical Talk: S&P 500 hovering above key support

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:26:00 +0000

clipped from www.investmentpostcards.com

As seen in the chart above the S&P 500 is range bound between the 1,041 (upper orange line) and 1,142 (lower red line) levels. Momentum as highlighted by the 14-week RSI is in a weakened state as well. Given the S&P 500 has now tested this 1,041 level on three separate occasions − February 2010, May 2010 and June 2010 − any additional test would increase the likelihood of a break.

Only a move back above the 100-day moving average (1,133 level and not seen in the chart above) above which the S&P 500 recently tried to rally, and failed, would turn the short-term trend positive.

Personal Income and Outlays, May 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:05:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Personal Income and Outlays, May 2010

Personal income increased $53.7 billion, or 0.4 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $49.0 billion, or 0.4 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $24.4 billion, or 0.2 percent. In April, personal
income increased $59.4 billion, or 0.5 percent, DPI increased $63.7 billion, or 0.6 percent, and PCE increased $1.4 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, based on revised estimates.

Real disposable income increased 0.5 percent in May, compared with an increase of 0.6 percent in April. Real PCE increased 0.3 percent, in contrast to a decrease of less than 0.1 percent.

Mortgage Delinquency Rates 90+ Days (Map)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Mortgage Delinquency Rates 90+ Days (Map)

Original content Bob DeMarco, All American Investor

Housing Starts New Privately Owned Housing Units Started (Graph)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:29:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

Housing Starts New Privately Owned Housing Units Started (Graph)

593,000 versus 659,000 a month ago. Down 66,000.

30-Year Conventional Mortgage Rate (Graph)

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:29:00 +0000

Opportunity of a lifetime to like in a mortgage payment for 30 years.

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

30-Year Conventional Mortgage Rate (Graph)

U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES –MAY 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:20:00 +0000

clipped from allamericaninvestor.blogspot.com

U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES –MAY 2010

U.S. import prices declined 0.6 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after rising 1.1 percent in April and 0.4 percent in March. The decrease was led by falling fuel prices, which more than offset a rise in nonfuel prices. In contrast, the price index for U.S. exports increased 0.7 percent in May following increases of 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent in April and March, respectively.

The Number One Best Selling Book On Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:53:00 +0000

You may or may not be surprised to learn that the number one, best selling, book on Amazon is by an economist.

The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents--The Definitive Edition (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek)

If you are wondering how and why this book is number one -- go here.

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION – JANUARY 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:18:00 +0000

The unemployment rate fell from 10.0 to 9.7 percent in January, and nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged (-20,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in construction and in transportation and warehousing, while temporary help services and retail trade added jobs.

Household Survey Data

In January, the number of unemployed persons decreased to 14.8 million, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage point to 9.7 percent.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) continued to trend up in January, reaching 6.3 million. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of longterm unemployed has risen by 5.0 million.
In January, the number of persons unemployed due to job loss decreased by 378,000 to 9.3 million. Nearly all of this decline occurred among permanent job losers.
In January, the civilian labor force participation rate was little changed at 64.7 percent. The employment-population ratio rose from 58.2 to 58.4 percent.
The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) fell from 9.2 to 8.3 million in January. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
About 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in January, an increase of 409,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
Among the marginally attached, there were 1.1 million discouraged workers in January, up from 734,000 a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.5 million people marginally attached to the labor force had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

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Is Pfizer Medivation's Dimebon a $1.5 Billion Blockbuster Drug ?

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Medivation (MDVN) is expected to release the results of its Phase 3 clinical trial of Dimebon in the not to distant future. Dimebon is designed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.....

By Bob DeMarco

Pfizer Medivation previously announced the Dimebon CONNECTION study results would be released during the first half of 2010.

There is great expectation not only in the Alzheimer's community but amongst investors.

Alzheimer's disease effects more than 5 million people in the United States, and more than 30 million worldwide. These numbers are expected to triple by 2050.

As I look across the Internet I am noticing that several reputable research analysis are forecasting annual sales of $1 to $1.5 billion if Dimebon is approved by the Food and Drug Administrtion (FDA). Current sales of drugs for Alzheimer's, including Pfizer's (PFE) Aricept, already exceed $5 billion.

Judging by the number of Google searches for Dimebon, and the number of searches coming to the Alzheimer's Reading Room via Google, I believe it is safe to say that Dimebon is on the minds of most of the Alzheimer's community. The number of searches for Dimebon exceeds the number of searches for all other experimental drugs currently in clinical trials and focused on Alzheimer's disease. The same would be true of the emails I receive on the Alzheimer's Reading Room.

Medivation's (MDVN) CONNECTION study is the center piece of its experimental studies with Dimebon. CONNECTION is a six-month, confirmatory, pivotal Phase 3 trial of the investigational drug Dimebon in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The key word here is: confirmatory.

Patients in the CONNECTION study are not taking any other Alzheimer's drug. Dimebon's effectiveness will be measured by both the ADAS-cog (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale) and CIBIC-plus (Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change) tests. These are commonly used measures of cognition, memory and overall clinical function used to assess Alzheimer's patients. Over time, the ADAS-cog and CIBIC-plus scores of an Alzheimer patient decline as the patient gradually loses memory, and loses the ability to do normal everyday functions.

The purpose of the CONNECTION study is to determine if Dimebon can improve a patient's cognitive and overall function for a period to time, or at least slow the progression of the Alzheimer's disease.

Here is a straightforward comparison. Aricept, the number one selling Alzheimer's drug, demonstrated a 3-point improvement in ADAS-cog over placebo in its six-month pivotal study.

In Medivation's pivotal phase two study, the ADAS-cog benefit for Dimebon over placebo was 5.9 points at 9 months and 6.9 points at one year. Dimebon demonstrated statistically significant improvements in memory, cognition behavior and overall function. Remarkable or too good to be true? The results were met with lots of skepticism in the scientific community.

We are now awaiting the results for six-month, confirmatory, pivotal Phase 3 trial of Dimebon.

It should be noted that the phase two Dimebon study results were published in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet in July 2008. This gives the experimental findings additional credibility. This added scrutiny of Dimebon should get your attention.

One issue that I will be looking at closely is how the patients on the Placebo score on the tests. There is scientific evidence that patients stay out of nursing homes longer when participating in clinical trials of experimental drugs -- even when the experimental drugs don't work. There is also evidence that study participants benefit substantially from the frequent, high-quality medical attention they receive as part of a clinical trial. These findings can be an issue in the results of any clinical trial.

Pfizer Medivation has additional clinical trials with Dimebon going on right now. The drug is being in tested in combination with Aricept; and, is also being tested separately in combination with Namenda.

It is widely known that the Dimebon CONNECTION study is for Alzheimer's patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. I don't think it is widely know that Dimebon is now being tested in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's Disease. There is no exisitng drug that is designed to work across the entire spectrum of Alzheimer's -- mild-moderate-severe Alzheimer's disease.

If Medivation's Dimebon proves out on either front -- mild-moderate or moderate-severe this could turn into a blockbuster drug. Both fronts and the sky is the limit.

Caregivers with family members and spouses suffering from Alzheimer's disease are already impatiently waiting for the Dimebon clinical trial test results and the verdict from the FDA. If the drug gains approval, doctors will be inundated with telephone calls for appointments. The only negative I can see for the Alzheimer's community is that this drug is going to be EXPENSIVE.

My guess is that this drug, by itself, will send older citizens into or near the Medicare donut hole by my birthday each year --August 12th. Ouch.

To read additional information about the CONNECTION study and about ongoing Dimebon clinical trials -- go here.

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is not an offer to buy or sell any stock, bond, or commodity. The author is not a registered securities analyst or associated with any member firm. The contents of this article are purely informational. All information was obtained from readily available public sources of information. The author does not own Pfizer (PFE) or Medivation (MDVN) at the time this article is being published.

The mother of the author, Dorothy DeMarco, is currently enrolled in a phase three clinical trial for Dimebon -- A Phase 3 Efficacy Study Of Dimebon In Patients With Moderate To Severe Alzheimer's Disease.

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Bob DeMarco is the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. Bob has written more than 1,200 articles with more than 9,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Antipsychotics, Johnson and Johnson, Kickbacks to Nursing Homes, the Feds Step In

noreply@blogger.com (Bob DeMarco) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:53:00 +0000

UNITED STATES FILES SUIT AGAINST DRUG MANUFACTURER JOHNSON & JOHNSON (JNJ) FOR PAYING KICKBACKS TO NATION’S LARGEST NURSING HOME PHARMACY

By Bob DeMarco

...for paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Omnicare, Inc. (“Omnicare”), the nation’s largest pharmacy that specializes in dispensing drugs to nursing home patients.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, “Kickbacks in the nursing home pharmacy context are particularly nefarious because they can result in excessive prescribing of strong drugs to patients who have little or no control over the medical care they are receiving. Nursing home doctors should be able to rely on the integrity of the recommendations they receive from pharmacists, and those recommendations should not be a product of money that a drug company is paying to the pharmacy.”

This lawsuit and story pertains to the enormous amount of antipsychotics that are being given to nursing home patients.

In this case, Risperdal, like many other psychotics, raises the risk of death in patients with psychosis that stems from dementia. Risperdal is not approved to treat this form of psychosis. Nevertheless, the drugs have been widely prescribed to nursing-home patients with dementia.

The Wall Street Journal broke this story back in 2007 -- Antipsychotic Drugs Abused as Chemical Restraints for Elderly. The article pointed out that "almost a third of patients in nursing homes were receiving powerful antipsychotic drugs". They were being given the drugs whether the patients were psychotic -- or not.

United States files suit against drug manufacturer Johnson and Johnson for paying Kickbacks to Nation's Largest Nursing Home Pharmacy

BOSTON, MA - United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, announced today that the Government has filed a civil False Claims Act complaint against drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J), of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and two of its subsidiaries, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc., for paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Omnicare, Inc. (“Omnicare”), the nation’s largest pharmacy that specializes in dispensing drugs to nursing home patients. In November 2009, the United States, numerous states, and Omnicare entered into a $98 million settlement agreement that, among other things, resolved Omnicare’s civil liability under the False Claims Act for taking kickbacks from J&J.

U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, “Kickbacks in the nursing home pharmacy context are particularly nefarious because they can result in excessive prescribing of strong drugs to patients who have little or no control over the medical care they are receiving. Nursing home doctors should be able to rely on the integrity of the recommendations they receive from pharmacists, and those recommendations should not be a product of money that a drug company is paying to the pharmacy.”

“We will pursue those who break the law to take advantage of the elderly and the poor,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.“ Kickbacks such as those alleged here distort the judgments of health care professionals and put profits ahead of sound medical treatment.”

In its complaint against J&J, the United States alleges that J&J paid kickbacks to Omnicare to induce Omnicare to purchase and to recommend J&J drugs, including the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, for use in nursing homes. According to the complaint, J&J understood that Omnicare’s pharmacists reviewed nursing home patients’ charts at least monthly and made recommendations to physicians on what drugs should be prescribed for those patients. The Government further alleges that J&J knew that physicians accepted the Omnicare pharmacists’ recommendations more than 80 percent of the time, and that J&J viewed such pharmacists as an “extension of [J&J’s] sales force.”

The United States alleges that, in order to induce Omnicare and its pharmacists to recommend J&J drugs, J&J paid kickbacks to Omnicare in numerous ways. First, the complaint alleges that J&J entered into agreements with Omnicare pursuant to which Omnicare was entitled to increasing levels of rebates from J&J so long as Omnicare implemented specific “Active Intervention Programs” to drive prescribing of J&J drugs. Second, the complaint alleges that J&J paid Omnicare millions of dollars for “data,” much of which Omnicare never provided. According to the complaint, the true purpose of these payments was to induce Omnicare to recommend J&J drugs, and J&J used the disguise of a data purchase arrangement to evade its obligations to disclose the payments to the Government and to pay rebates to state Medicaid programs. Third, the complaint alleges that J&J made various other substantial kickback payments to Omnicare, calling the payments “grants” and “educational funding” even though their true purpose was to induce to Omnicare to recommend J&J drugs.

In response to J&J’s kickbacks, according to the complaint, Omnicare undertook various “intervention” programs for J&J drugs. For example, Omnicare engaged in a “Risperdal Initiative” whose purpose, as J&J understood it, was “to persuade physicians to write Risperdal in the areas of Behavioral Disturbances associated with Dementia.” After the conduct at issue, the United States Food and Drug Administration mandated that the label for Risperdal carry a“black box” warning that “Elderly Patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with atypical antipsychotic drugs [including Risperdal] are at an increased risk of death compared to placebo.” The United States filed its complaint in two consolidated whistleblower lawsuits presently on file in the District of Massachusetts.

This case was investigated by the Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston units of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Chicago unit of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being handled by Gregg Shapiro and Christine Wichers in Ortiz’s Civil Division and Laurie Oberembt in the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
PHONE: (617)748-3356
E-MAIL: USAMA.MEDIA@USDOJ.GOV

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room