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Neurontin News
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June 1st, 2004
"Pfizer to Settle Neurontin Marketing Suit"
The world''s largest drug manufacturer, Pfizer, Inc., agreed to pay at least $400 million in order to settle civil charges regarding kickbacks to encourage doctors to prescribe the anti-epileptic drug Neurontin for other purposes.
The settlement is rooted in a US investigation regarding collaboration between drug companies and physicians, wherein government health programs are billed for the free samples given to doctors for promotional purposes. AstraZeneca Plc and Tap Pharmaceuticals Inc. have already pled guilty to criminal charges and agreed to settlements that total over $1 billion.
The lawsuit was originally filled by a former employee of Parke-Davis, a company acquired by Pfizer in June 2000. In its annual report, Pfizer claimed that the alleged misconduct occurred before the acquisition, while Parke-Davis owned Neurontin. Whistleblower Thomas Franklin claims that the company treated doctors to lavish dinners, trips to the Olympics and resort getaways in an attempt to influence physicians to market Neurontin for ailments such as migraines, and that the company sought reimbursement from Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low income individuals.
"It does not appear that there will be any harsh penalties on Pfizer doing business with the government," stated Scott Henry, a stock analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in Boston. "That''s always a concern with Medicaid."
Two other Pfizer drugs, Genotropin growth hormone and Bextra painkiller, are also investigation by the Justice Department. Those drugs were obtained last year when Pfizer acquired Pharmacia Corp. Pfizer and a dozen other drug companies are also named in a lawsuit by Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert of inflating drug prices with marketing costs. The government has also scrutinized the marketing practices of other drug makers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Eli Lilly & Co., Schering-Plough Corp, and Barr Laboratories, Inc.
