UPDATE 1-King unit to pay $42.5 mln over Kadian claims

* Alpharma settlement resolves kickback allegations

* Case involved inducements to prescribe pain drug Kadian

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Alpharma Inc, a unit of King Pharmaceuticals KG.N, has agreed to pay $42.5 million to resolve allegations that it gave kickbacks to doctors to prescribe the pain drug Kadian and misrepresented its safety and effectiveness, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Kadian, which is based on morphine, is used to treat chronic moderate to severe pain.

"All consumers have the right to know that their health care provider's judgment about drugs they should take has not been undermined by misinformation or kickbacks from pharmaceutical manufacturers," Tony West, a Justice Department assistant attorney general, said in a statement.

The settlement resolves actions committed between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 29, 2008.

Debra Parks, who first made the allegation in 2006, will receive $5.33 million of the settlement under whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The federal government and the states involved in the suit will split the remainder. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)