On the heels Allergan Inc. pleading guilty to marketing its wrinkle smoother botox for unapproved uses, the Food and Drug Administration has now approved Allergan's product, which is a purified form of the poison botulinum, for chronic migraine headaches.
Allergan settled an investigation on October 5th and was ordered by a judge to pay $375 million to resolve Justice Department allegations it promoted Botox for headache, pain and juvenile cerebral palsy from 2000 to 2005 without FDA approval. According to Bloomberg, the guilty plea includes a $350 million criminal fine and $25 million in forfeited assets. Furthermore, Allergan agreed to a five-year compliance plan requiring it to disclose payments to doctors on its website and provide annual certification by senior executives and board members that divisions meet federal health-care requirements.