May 25, 2006 at 17:01:18

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Neurontin Deal - Slap On The Hand To Pfizer

By Evelyn Pringle (about the author)     Page 11 of 12 page(s)

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The first disturbing pattern he noticed was that an overwhelming number of patients were being prescribed Neurontin to treat conditions like anxiety, depression, psychosis and impotence. "The FDA had not approved using that drug for mental illnesses," he noted.

Dr Kruszewski found patients on as many as 5 medications at the same time, something he says is "hard to justify."

One of the most disturbing cases he found was a mentally retarded 15-year-old girl who was supposedly being treated for being defiance and sexual promiscuity.

Dr Kruszewski discovered that the girl was on 11 different drugs, including five anti-psychotics, even though she had no diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder. "She was so overmedicated," he said, "that she had trouble getting out of bed or standing up by herself."

"Although physicians can choose to prescribe virtually any medication for any condition," he explains, "the promotion of Neurontin remains the subject of intense scrutiny since Pfizer's off-label promotion was previously the subject of civil and criminal penalties by the US Department of Justice."

"In my opinion as a clinical and academic psychiatrist," Dr Kruszewski says, "Neurontin's link to severe emotional and cognitive disturbances, including mania, depression, suicide and memory loss, continues to be the most egregious aspect of Neurontin's promotion."

"It causes suffering, morbidity and death," he noted, "problems that Pfizer and the current generic makers of Neurontin have failed to make known to consumers and potential victims,“ he said.

Attorney, Zena Crenshaw, Executive Director for National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, agrees that off-label prescribing is a major problem and says any drug manufacturer even suspected of such "market expansion" should be called to the carpet.

"The idea of salesmen hyping drugs to doctors," she says, "for conditions beyond those for which the products were approved is unnerving."

"Considering that even dire prescription drug warnings probably reflect a minimum level of adequate care," she warns, "prescribing drugs off-label should seem universally hazardous."

When Dr Kruszewski warned his superiors that off-label use of the drugs was not only harmful to patients but could also expose the state to liability from lawsuits by injured patients, he was told "it's none of your business."

When Dr Kruszewski continued to voice his concerns he was told to quit digging up dirt and when he refused to let go he was fired. He has since filed a whistleblower lawsuit against state officials and 6 drug companies including Pfizer alleging among other things, that the defendants: "through the use of political friendships, money and other emoluments, effectively achieved a level of influence with Pennsylvania's state government that allowed them to abuse state finances and state citizens with impunity."

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists.

The GAP is assisting Dr Kruszewski with his lawsuit against the drug giants. Mark Cohen, an attorney with the GAP, describes whistleblowers like Dr Kruszewski as "regular people who have been pushed beyond the limits their consciences can bear."

"They feel a moral duty to set the situation right," he says.

"They can no longer "go along to get along" in the face of wrongdoing," he explains. "And they can't simply opt out -- take another job and keep their lips sealed -- and ignore the wrongdoing," he says.

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