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? $945M (Fierce Pharma)
Didn’t feel I had a clear cut case against Neurontin because of environmental illness load I was carrying, but neurontin was the biomedical straw which broke the camel’s back. Life changed course after that last iatrogenic trauma.
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It’s nice they have to pay a fine but how much is it really in terms of % of their profit? I mean if I steal 100$ 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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Exactly. People in these drug companies need to go to prison over all this.
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Absolutely.
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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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It’s not been introduced yet but there is an ongoing effort to call for a convention which got so strong that it caught the eye of Washington, after Vermont passed a relevant resolution. It’s mainly thanks to these guys (and they’re looking for support in any way, shape or form you can provide it):
http://www.wolf-pac.com/
Here are some recent updates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWqovERaCGE&list=UU1yBKRuGpC1tSM73A0ZjYjQ
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NO, unlike the rest of us these pharma people don’t do prison for committing crimes.
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Link to image of internal email where Pfizer exec calls Neurontin the snake oil of the 20th century.
http://i.bnet.com/blogs/snake-and-oil.jpg
I was prescribed this crap too back when I still sick as a result of trusting the “medical” profession.
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