Court Sentences Abbott Laboratories for Off-Label Promotion of Antiseizure Drug

Abbott Laboratories Inc must pay $700 million in fines and other costs for illegal marketing of its drug Depakote, in line with a p reviously announced settlement, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The pharmaceutical maker said in May it would plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation of misbranding and pay $1.6 billion to state and federal authorities. Abbott marketed Depakote for conditions including depression, anxiety and drug withdrawal while the drug did not have government approval for those uses, prosecutors said.