Pfizer Inc. is the world’s largest drug maker, and the biggest among Big Pharma. It will also pay the largest healthcare fraud settlement in US history with ‘a record $2.3 billion civil and criminal penalty over unlawful prescription drug promotions’ of 4 prescription drugs. The case: deceptive and fraudulent marketing of the drugs Bextra (anti-inflammatory), Geodon (anti-psychotic), Zyvox (antibiotic), and Lyrica (anti-epileptic).
Under the civil False Claims Act, the pharmaceutical giant had been accused of illegally promoting the said four drugs. ‘Pfizer and one of its subsidiaries, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc, marketed four drugs based on off-label uses specifically prohibited by the FDA.’
Specifically, Pfizer was found guilty of submitting ‘false claims to government healthcare programs for uses that were not medically accepted indications and therefore not covered by those programs.’ The drugs were misbranded with the intent to defraud or mislead.
According to Tony West, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, “Illegal conduct and fraud by pharmaceutical companies puts the public health at risk, corrupts medical decisions by healthcare providers and costs the government billions of dollars. This civil settlement and plea agreement by Pfizer represent yet another example of what penalties will be faced when a pharmaceutical company puts profits ahead of patient welfare.”
Part of the civil settlement also ‘resolves allegations that Pfizer gave doctors kickbacks to prescribe the drugs for the unspecified off-label uses.’
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