Pfizer fined $2.3 billion for improper drug marketing

(Washington Post) UPDATED 2009-09-03

A unit of drugmaker Pfizer has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge that accused the company of marketing its painkiller Bextra for higher dosages and wider uses than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer unit Pharmacia & Upjohn allegedly paid for lavish trips for doctors, sent unsolicited advertising material to physicians by using fake requests for medical information, and drafted articles that promoted Bextra without disclosing the company's hand in writing them. The company agreed to pay $1.3 billion in fines and forfeiture. Pfizer paid an additional $1 billion to resolve civil allegations of improper marketing over Bextra and three other drugs: Geodon, an antipsychotic; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, an epilepsy med. The company did not admit wrongdoing in most of these civil suits. Read full story >

See all Rheumatoid Arthritis News