GSK lawyer is indicted on charges of obstructing FDA proceeding

doi:10.1136/bmj.c6570

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Janice Hopkins Tanne

¹New York

The US Department of Justice has charged Lauren Stevens, a retired GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) lawyer, in relation to alleged off-label marketing of a drug. She faces one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of concealing and falsifying documents to influence a federal agency, and four counts of making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration.

Although drug companies have in the past been charged with off-label marketing of drugs, and several have paid large fines, it is thought that this is the first time an individual has been charged. GSK has not been charged and is not identified in the indictment.

The charges relate to the alleged off-label marketing of the antidepressant bupropion (marketed by GSK as Wellbutrin) for weight loss, and each carries a possible …