There's no way I can comment on this disgusting story without injecting partisan comments. Stories like this, unfortunately, aren't that uncommon. However, in the case of Pfizer they voluntarily entered a GUILTY plea to the accusation. Usually these types of stories involve a monetary case settlement, absent of any admission of guilt. Not this time. They did the crime and the evidence was so overwhelming there was no quiet settlement available. During the past eight years of the Bush administration we saw a relentless assault on product, food and drug regulations, often termed by Republicans as "needless regulations". They believed then, and still do today, that Ronald Reagan's "honor system" works. The potential profits were so vast, Pfizer threw out morals and integrity and went for the big bucks. Now they're busted.
A story like this adds hard, undeniable proof that our health care industry needs reform. We need it for our own safety. Reflect on this part of the news report that states, "Drug companies often pay physicians to prescribe their drugs to patients. In fact, The Times reported today that marketing plans developed by Forest Laboratories for its drug Lexapro included using cash and other perks to persuade psychiatrists, primary care doctors and other medical specialists to prescribe the antidepressant." Absent of the federal government's involvement in regulating this industry, who is on our side to insure the medicine is safe, will actually do what is claimed, and is being prescribed because we really need it, not because a doctor has been paid by the drug company to do so?
I've had first had experience with this issue. Several years ago I came across a news story on MSN's home page about a specific heart medication I was currently taking. The story detailed studies at prestigious institutions that all concluded the medication not only did not do what it claimed, but actually made conditions worse. I contacted my cardiologist's office, faxed them a copy of the story, and inquired if they still wanted me to take this medication. The next day a nurse from his office called me and said they were already aware of the studies, and if a patient wanted to switch to another medication they would issue a new prescription. She indicated they'd had a number of calls about this medication. So she was asking me if I wanted to continue taking a medication that didn't work, that actually made conditions worse or switch? It's also worth observing that after they became aware the drug was a lemon, they didn't initiate contact with patients to switch them to different medications. There's little doubt this cardiologist was receiving payment from the drug company to prescribe this specific drug, and he hadn't met his quota yet. That's part of how our current system works. That's part of what needs reforming.
Pfizer fined $2.3 billion in drug-marketing case
The drug giant pleads guilty to illegally marketing Bextra, a painkiller removed in 2005. It's fined for illegally marketing 13 drugs.
Posted by Charley Blaine on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 11:51 AM
Drug giant Pfizer agreed today to plead guilty to a charge of illegally marketing the now-withdrawn painkiller Bextra. But that's not all. The drug giant agreed to pay $2.3 billion in fines to settle allegations that it illegally marketed 13 drugs, including Bextra. It is the largest fine ever levied for fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Pfizer was deemed a repeat offender in pitching drugs to patients and doctors for conditions not approved by healthcare regulators.
Pfizer had pleaded guilty in 2004 to an earlier criminal charge of improper sales tactics and its marketing practices have been under federal supervision since then. Pfizer pulled from the market in 2005 after the Food and Drug Administration said the drug could cause a dangerous skin condition and as well as cause heart problems. At the time, Bextra was generating $1.3 billion a year in sales The settlement announced on Wednesday by Pfizer includes a $1.3 billion criminal fine related to methods of selling Bextra. It also includes $1 billion in civil payments related to so-called "off-label" sales of drugs -- meaning for uses not authorized by the FDA -- and payments to healthcare professionals.
Marketing fraud cases against pharmaceutical companies have become almost routine, The New York Times said, with almost every major drug maker being accused of giving kickbacks to doctors or shortchanging the Medicaid program on prices. Prosecutors said that they have become so alarmed by the growing criminality in the industry that they have begun increasing fines into the billions of dollars and will soon start charging doctors individually as well. In January, prosecutors announced that they would fine Eli Lilly $1.4 billion for its illegal marketing efforts on behalf of Zyprexa, an antipsychotic.
Drug companies often pay physicians to prescribe their drugs to patients. In fact, The Times reported today that marketing plans developed by Forest Laboratories for its drug Lexapro included using cash and other perks to persuade psychiatrists, primary care doctors and other medical specialists to prescribe the antidepressant.
Today's announcement was made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.co...t-dispatches.aspx?post=1247520&_blg=1,1247520
A story like this adds hard, undeniable proof that our health care industry needs reform. We need it for our own safety. Reflect on this part of the news report that states, "Drug companies often pay physicians to prescribe their drugs to patients. In fact, The Times reported today that marketing plans developed by Forest Laboratories for its drug Lexapro included using cash and other perks to persuade psychiatrists, primary care doctors and other medical specialists to prescribe the antidepressant." Absent of the federal government's involvement in regulating this industry, who is on our side to insure the medicine is safe, will actually do what is claimed, and is being prescribed because we really need it, not because a doctor has been paid by the drug company to do so?
I've had first had experience with this issue. Several years ago I came across a news story on MSN's home page about a specific heart medication I was currently taking. The story detailed studies at prestigious institutions that all concluded the medication not only did not do what it claimed, but actually made conditions worse. I contacted my cardiologist's office, faxed them a copy of the story, and inquired if they still wanted me to take this medication. The next day a nurse from his office called me and said they were already aware of the studies, and if a patient wanted to switch to another medication they would issue a new prescription. She indicated they'd had a number of calls about this medication. So she was asking me if I wanted to continue taking a medication that didn't work, that actually made conditions worse or switch? It's also worth observing that after they became aware the drug was a lemon, they didn't initiate contact with patients to switch them to different medications. There's little doubt this cardiologist was receiving payment from the drug company to prescribe this specific drug, and he hadn't met his quota yet. That's part of how our current system works. That's part of what needs reforming.
Pfizer fined $2.3 billion in drug-marketing case
The drug giant pleads guilty to illegally marketing Bextra, a painkiller removed in 2005. It's fined for illegally marketing 13 drugs.
Posted by Charley Blaine on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 11:51 AM
Drug giant Pfizer agreed today to plead guilty to a charge of illegally marketing the now-withdrawn painkiller Bextra. But that's not all. The drug giant agreed to pay $2.3 billion in fines to settle allegations that it illegally marketed 13 drugs, including Bextra. It is the largest fine ever levied for fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Pfizer was deemed a repeat offender in pitching drugs to patients and doctors for conditions not approved by healthcare regulators.
Pfizer had pleaded guilty in 2004 to an earlier criminal charge of improper sales tactics and its marketing practices have been under federal supervision since then. Pfizer pulled from the market in 2005 after the Food and Drug Administration said the drug could cause a dangerous skin condition and as well as cause heart problems. At the time, Bextra was generating $1.3 billion a year in sales The settlement announced on Wednesday by Pfizer includes a $1.3 billion criminal fine related to methods of selling Bextra. It also includes $1 billion in civil payments related to so-called "off-label" sales of drugs -- meaning for uses not authorized by the FDA -- and payments to healthcare professionals.
Marketing fraud cases against pharmaceutical companies have become almost routine, The New York Times said, with almost every major drug maker being accused of giving kickbacks to doctors or shortchanging the Medicaid program on prices. Prosecutors said that they have become so alarmed by the growing criminality in the industry that they have begun increasing fines into the billions of dollars and will soon start charging doctors individually as well. In January, prosecutors announced that they would fine Eli Lilly $1.4 billion for its illegal marketing efforts on behalf of Zyprexa, an antipsychotic.
Drug companies often pay physicians to prescribe their drugs to patients. In fact, The Times reported today that marketing plans developed by Forest Laboratories for its drug Lexapro included using cash and other perks to persuade psychiatrists, primary care doctors and other medical specialists to prescribe the antidepressant.
Today's announcement was made by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.co...t-dispatches.aspx?post=1247520&_blg=1,1247520
