Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug maker, will pay a record US$2.3 billion civil and criminal penalty over unlawful prescription drug promotions.
The Justice Department said that it included the largest criminal fine in U.S. history–$1.2 billion. The agreement also included a criminal forfeiture of $105 million.
To promote its drugs, authorities said Pfizer invited doctors to consultant meetings at resort locations, paying their expenses and providing perks.
“They were entertained with golf, massages, and other activities,” said Mike Loucks, the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts.
Loucks said that even as Pfizer was negotiating deals on past misconduct, they were continuing to violate the very same laws with other drugs.
Six corporate whisteblowers who first brought the misconduct to light will share $102 million of the settlement money.
FBI Assistant Director Kevin Perkins praised the whistleblowers who decided to “speak out against a corporate giant that was blatantly violating the law and misleading the public through false marketing claims.”
The government said the company promoted four prescription drugs, including the pain killer Bextra, as treatments for medical conditions different than those the drugs had been approved for by federal regulators.
Use of drugs for so-called “off-label” medical conditions is not uncommon, but drug manufacturers are prohibited from marketing drugs for uses that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Bextra, one of a class of painkillers known as Cox-2 inhibitors, was pulled from the U.S. market in 2005 amid mounting evidence it raised the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
