The United States has sued the Johnson&Johnson company for marketing the heart drug Natrecor for unauthorized uses, thus having joined two other lawsuits filed against the pharmaceutical manufacturer.

The unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses of the aforementioned drug cost Medicare, which is the nation’s health insurance program aimed at the elderly, large amounts of money, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

American prosecutors made the decision to join the lawsuit in federal court in California against Scios Incorporated, which is the maker of Natrecor that was bought by New Brunswick-based Johnson&Johnson back in 2003.

Natrecor is a drug administered intravenously aimed at treating severe cases of congestive heart failure for patients that undergo treatment in the hospital, the Justice Department’s statement said.

Scios was given the go-ahead to market the drug back in 2001, while soon after, the company kicked off a campaign that advertised Natrecor as medicine that could also be used in outpatient care for people with less severe heart failure, which was an unauthorized by the FDA use, the statement further added.

Charles Miller, a Justice spokesman, refused to disclose the cost that was entailed by the off-label use of the drug, which took a huge toll on Medicare, but stated that the government could ask for damages as much as triple the cost of the off-label drugs, along with an amount ranging from $5,500 to $11,000 for each false or fraudulent reimbursement claim that was filed.