STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
NPR's business news starts with a big fine for Johnson & Johnson.
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INSKEEP: So much for no more tears. A judge in Arkansas ordered the company most famous for its baby shampoo to by more than a billion dollars in fines yesterday over its marketing for a very different product. That would be an antipsychotic drug, Risperdal.
Experts say the $1.2 billion penalty is among the biggest on record for a state-level fraud case involving a pharmaceutical company. A jury found that Johnson & Johnson failed to properly disclose the drug's possible side effects, like weight gain, risk of strokes in older patients, and increased risk of diabetes.
Johnson & Johnson says there's no evidence patients were harmed, and is asking for a new trial. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.