Drug Company Settlement To Help Mental Illness Group

Funds from a settlement with a drug company will help an Arkansas mental health organization expand its assistance for children,

Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe says the Arkansas chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will be awarded $14,516 from a 2003 settlement between the state and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The settlement stems from allegations that the pharmaceutical company tried to keep generic versions of the anti-anxiety drug BuSpar off the market.

In 2004, 891 Arkansans who had overpaid for BuSpar received individual checks totaling $649,000. The state also received $620,000 from the settlement.