Sept. 2, 2009 Pfizer Drugs Hit With Billion Dollar Fines
The biggest punishment in US drug company history was given to Pfizer a major corporation that made a drug called Bextra or the name of Valdecoxib.
The drug was supposed to be for approved only as an anti-inflammatory related to osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
In 2009 alone, Pfizer through its subsidiary Pharmacia and Upjohn Company was hit with a 2.3 billion dollar fine with the “intent” to mislead and defraud the public.
The drug giant actually admitted to committing these offenses but the CEO’s never received any punishment, which is entirely a huge mistake. Even though some of the little men that were caught burning paperwork, files and reports a district manager was only charged with home confinement.
Another regional manager was found guilty of distributing a mislabeled drug and was given a slap on the hand of two years probation and a $ 75,000 fine. A small inconvenience and a pittance for multi-national multi-billion dollar corporate giant.
Instead the pharmaceutical marketed the drug through various promotional methods and to doctors as a painkiller.
Pfizer hit with Billions in Fines for Fraud on Bextra
Bextra was approved by the FDA which doesn’t say much these days in 2001 and was pulled in 2005 because of dangerous side effects such as asthma like reactions or breathing difficulties of consumers. However the FDA gave Bextra a five year run of profits for Pfizer of billions of dollars profit in those five years of running a scam in this particular drug.
By expanding it’s uses Pfizer increased sales profits which would come in handy for lawsuits and fines later. The whole scam of approvals and a 5 year run then slapping a ban on these drugs is a fraud that the public is well aware of today.
The major problem with this drug is that it caused heart attacks, stroke and angina besides the serious skin reactions experienced from people who took the drug.
Pfizer also is paying 1 billion to Medicare and other government health insurance schemes to reimburse those organizations for over billing for this drug.
Like a long laundry list of dirty drug company CEOs who should be sharing a jail cell with Bernie Madoff the CEO’s are bent on a “profit at any costs” as the drug company representative testified in court.
Thanks to honest people who still do exist in this world Mr. John Kopchinski an ex-Pfizer sales rep was told to push Bextra at “all costs for all symptoms” and he just could not do it.
He said this drug put people’s lives at risk and he just could not do that as he testified in court he has probably saved millions of people from strokes and possible deaths.
Wyeth Drug Company for lying about breast cancer risks on Prempro and Hormone Replacement Drugs. Wyeth is also being investigated for hiring ghost writers to falsify reports from professional endorsements from retired professors and doctors. Wyeth dictated to these endorsers who’s reputations now are mud, what to say and how to describe the drug’s effectiveness which was all false information. Wyeth should be in court for fraud and other charges however they are still fighting the Prempro cases which gave middle age women -breast cancer and heart attacks.
The state of affairs with the Swine Flu Vaccine which was rushed to the market is that it is now in jeopardy because of the ingredients. As much as the government forced the vaccine through various new laws people defying the government’s call for mandating mass vaccinations for the swine flu. As it turns out the forcing of vaccines by government through drug company lobbyists backfired.
The drug company motto for the past few decades has been to make profits -at any cost -it does not matter how many people get killed in the process.
The next job for President Obama is to clean house and fire the FDA administration especially the top executives who are corrupt and accepting bribes for drug company approvals. It is not a huge surprise that this will continue unless he stops accepting campaign contributions from big pharmas like Pfizer however the public does not believe in the scam system of drug approvals. They follow the money.
TAGS: drug company fined for fraud, Pfizer fined big time, Wyeth falsifies reports, drug company’s gone wild, profits before health, Drug company mottos, Pfizer Fined billions in drug fraud, Valdecoxib, Pfizer mislabels drugs, Pfizer admits to corruption charges, FDA approvals a gimmick for drug industry,
The biggest punishment in US drug company history was given to Pfizer a major corporation that made a drug called Bextra or the name of Valdecoxib.
The drug was supposed to be for approved only as an anti-inflammatory related to osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
In 2009 alone, Pfizer through its subsidiary Pharmacia and Upjohn Company was hit with a 2.3 billion dollar fine with the “intent” to mislead and defraud the public.
The drug giant actually admitted to committing these offenses but the CEO’s never received any punishment, which is entirely a huge mistake. Even though some of the little men that were caught burning paperwork, files and reports a district manager was only charged with home confinement.
Another regional manager was found guilty of distributing a mislabeled drug and was given a slap on the hand of two years probation and a $ 75,000 fine. A small inconvenience and a pittance for multi-national multi-billion dollar corporate giant.
Instead the pharmaceutical marketed the drug through various promotional methods and to doctors as a painkiller.
Pfizer hit with Billions in Fines for Fraud on Bextra
Bextra was approved by the FDA which doesn’t say much these days in 2001 and was pulled in 2005 because of dangerous side effects such as asthma like reactions or breathing difficulties of consumers. However the FDA gave Bextra a five year run of profits for Pfizer of billions of dollars profit in those five years of running a scam in this particular drug.
By expanding it’s uses Pfizer increased sales profits which would come in handy for lawsuits and fines later. The whole scam of approvals and a 5 year run then slapping a ban on these drugs is a fraud that the public is well aware of today.
The major problem with this drug is that it caused heart attacks, stroke and angina besides the serious skin reactions experienced from people who took the drug.
Pfizer also is paying 1 billion to Medicare and other government health insurance schemes to reimburse those organizations for over billing for this drug.
Like a long laundry list of dirty drug company CEOs who should be sharing a jail cell with Bernie Madoff the CEO’s are bent on a “profit at any costs” as the drug company representative testified in court.
Thanks to honest people who still do exist in this world Mr. John Kopchinski an ex-Pfizer sales rep was told to push Bextra at “all costs for all symptoms” and he just could not do it.
He said this drug put people’s lives at risk and he just could not do that as he testified in court he has probably saved millions of people from strokes and possible deaths.
Wyeth Drug Company for lying about breast cancer risks on Prempro and Hormone Replacement Drugs. Wyeth is also being investigated for hiring ghost writers to falsify reports from professional endorsements from retired professors and doctors. Wyeth dictated to these endorsers who’s reputations now are mud, what to say and how to describe the drug’s effectiveness which was all false information. Wyeth should be in court for fraud and other charges however they are still fighting the Prempro cases which gave middle age women -breast cancer and heart attacks.
The state of affairs with the Swine Flu Vaccine which was rushed to the market is that it is now in jeopardy because of the ingredients. As much as the government forced the vaccine through various new laws people defying the government’s call for mandating mass vaccinations for the swine flu. As it turns out the forcing of vaccines by government through drug company lobbyists backfired.
The drug company motto for the past few decades has been to make profits -at any cost -it does not matter how many people get killed in the process.
The next job for President Obama is to clean house and fire the FDA administration especially the top executives who are corrupt and accepting bribes for drug company approvals. It is not a huge surprise that this will continue unless he stops accepting campaign contributions from big pharmas like Pfizer however the public does not believe in the scam system of drug approvals. They follow the money.
TAGS: drug company fined for fraud, Pfizer fined big time, Wyeth falsifies reports, drug company’s gone wild, profits before health, Drug company mottos, Pfizer Fined billions in drug fraud, Valdecoxib, Pfizer mislabels drugs, Pfizer admits to corruption charges, FDA approvals a gimmick for drug industry,
Cassandra, this is way too long I want you to summarise it. What are the key points? Use bullet points if you have to.
ReplyDeleteAlso write about what you consider to be the ethical issues here.
Don't forget to put your references/source.