The State of Nebraska will receive more than $2.6 million from a settlement involving the marketing of prescription drugs. A total of $425 million will be distributed to all 50 states and the federal government.

The settlement resolves allegations that the pharmaceutical manufacturer Cephalon improperly marketed three of its drugs, Provigil, Gabitril and Actiq.

Provigil is used for sleep disorders. Gabitril is for seizure disorders. Actiq is a powerful pain killer used to treat cancer patients. Cephalon marketed these drugs for purposes other than those that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Promoting drugs for uses that haven’t been approved by the FDA is illegal,” said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. “These laws exist to protect the safety and health of Americans and it’s important for companies to follow them.”

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that runs the state’s Medicaid program, will receive $334,906 of Nebraska’s settlement. Another $669,812 will go into the state’s school fund. Interest totaling $27,772 will be prorated between the Medicaid program and the school fund, and $1.6 million goes back to the federal government. The state’s Medicaid program is both state and federally funded.

Cephalon will plead guilty in U.S. District Court to one misdemeanor count for violating the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. Cephalon will also enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, requiring strict scrutiny of its future sales and marketing practices.

The case was handled by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units and the Nebraska Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Unit in the Attorney General’s Office.