Forest agrees to guilty plea for violating FDA laws and pay over $300 million in penalties

Forest Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX), has entered into a plea agreement in which the company accepted responsibility for criminal actions including distribution of an unapproved new drug, distribution of a misbranded drug and obstruction of a Food and Drug Administration inspection.

To resolve these charges and a related civil suit, Forest has agreed to pay more than $300 million, including $164 million in criminal penalties. This plea agreement is the culmination of a multi-year investigation conducted by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations in cooperation with its law enforcement partners and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.