AstraZeneca settles lawsuit over illegal marketing

"AstraZeneca has completed a deal to pay $520 million to settle federal investigations into marketing practices for its blockbuster schizophrenia drug, Seroquel, the Attorney General, Eric Holder, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon."

That half-billion dollar fine amounts to about a tenth of the nearly $5 billion AZ earned from Seroquel last year alone. "AstraZeneca agreed to sign a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government over its marketing of Seroquel for unapproved uses" -- take THAT Astra! -- "but will not face criminal charges, company and federal officials said."

The New York Times (yes, it's the only paper I read) reports here.