Sep 9 2009
Parker Waichman Alonso LLP represented a whistleblower in one of the lawsuits involved in the recent $2.3 billion Pfizer settlement. The whistleblower lawsuit alleged that Pfizer illegally promoted the off-label use of the antipsychotic medication Geodon.
The Parker Waichman Alonso lawsuit was one of nine settled by the U.S. Department of Justice that charged Pfizer illegally marketed Geodon, as well as the pain killer Bextra; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, an anti-epileptic drug. The civil settlement also resolves allegations that Pfizer paid kickbacks to health care providers to induce them to prescribe these, as well as other, drugs.
Under the terms of the settlement, Pfizer subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. has also agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation that it illegally promoted the off-label use of Bextra. Pharmacia & Upjohn will pay $1.3 billion toward the total settlement.
The $2.3 billion settlement is the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Geodon portion of the settlement was $301 million.
"We are proud of our client and the other relators who stepped forward to expose Pfizer's wrongdoing, and helped to make this settlement possible," said David Krangle, an attorney with Parker Waichman Alonso LLP. "We are also proud that our firm was able to play a part in obtaining justice for American taxpayers."