Pfizer to Pay $325M for False Neurontin Marketing

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After ten years of litigation, Pfizer has agreed to pay $325 million for marketing its anticonvulsant Neurontin for unapproved purposes.  The settlement comes six weeks after Pfizer agreed to pay $190 million for  illegal promotion and sales of Neurontin for unapproved uses, as well as making misrepresentations to patent courts, and other practices designed to stifle competition. In 2004, Pfizer paid $430 million for marketing the drug to treat bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other conditions, bringing the total Pfizer has paid in Neurontin-related litigation to $945 million.

Pfizer Agrees to $325 Million Neurontin Marketing Accord (Bloomberg)
Pfizer to pay $325 mln in Neurontin settlement (Reuters)
Pfizer adds another $325M to Neurontin settlement tally. Total? $945M (Fierce Pharma)

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Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole
Kermit Cole, MFT, founding editor of Mad in America, works in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a couples and family therapist. Inspired by Open Dialogue, he works as part of a team and consults with couples and families that have members identified as patients. His work in residential treatment — largely with severely traumatized and/or "psychotic" clients — led to an appreciation of the power and beauty of systemic philosophy and practice, as the alternative to the prevailing focus on individual pathology. A former film-maker, he has undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology from Harvard University, as well as an MFT degree from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. He is a doctoral candidate with the Taos Institute and the Free University of Brussels. You can reach him at [email protected].

8 COMMENTS

  1. Didn’t feel I had a clear cut case against Neurontin because of environmental illness load I was carrying, but neurontin was the biomedical straw which broke the camel’s back. Life changed course after that last iatrogenic trauma.

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  2. It’s nice they have to pay a fine but how much is it really in terms of % of their profit? I mean if I steal 100$ from an old lady (and kill or injure her in the process) and my only punishment is to pay like 5$ then what incentive do I have not to do it again?

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  3. Did anyone go to jail? Perhaps Pfizer, this corporate ‘person’ could do some time.

    On a related note…A constitutional amendment was just introduced in the Senate to overhaul our campaign financing system…essentially overturning Citizen’s United. Does anyone have more info on this? I think this is one of the most important issues of our time.

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