May 9, 2006 at 20:05:11

Ex-Pfizer VP Peter Rost Takes On Goliath

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By Evelyn Pringle (about the author) Page 4 of 7 page(s)

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But come to find out, off-label marketing seems to habitual with Pfizer. At the same time that Dr Rost reported the illegal activities, Pfizer was fighting off a whistleblower lawsuit arising out of the off-label marketing of the drug Neurontin, by another company acquired through a merger, in promoting the drug for pain control and Attention Deficit Disorder.

In the end, Pfizer settled the lawsuit and a related criminal case for $430 million.

In a motion filed in attempt to dismiss Dr Rost's lawsuit, Pfizer states: After investigating for more than two years, the Justice Department recently declined to intervene in this qui tam complaint. The inference being that the DOJ does not consider this to be a serious case.

However, a decision by the DOJ not to intervene means nothing. According to a study by the Government Accounting Office, the DOJ has declined to intervene in 72% of all qui tam actions initiated between 1987 and 2005.

A review of Pfizer regulatory filings reveals an ongoing affair with the DOJ. In its Form 10-K for 2003, filed with the SEC on March 10, 2004, Pfizer disclosed the following:

The company recently was notified that the US Department of Justice is conducting investigations relating to the marketing and sale of Genotropin and Bextra, as well as certain managed care payments.

In its Form 10-K for 2004, filed with the SEC on February 29, 2005, Pfizer disclosed that: In late 2003, we received a request for information and documents from the US Department of Justice concerning the marketing of Genotropin as well as certain managed care payments.

Nine months later, in a Form 10-Q filed on November 9, 2005, Pfizer revealed that: The U.S. Department of Justice has informed us that it is investigating Pharmacia's former contractual relationship with a health care intermediary.

And make no mistake, Pfizer's legal troubles are far from over. According to Dr Rost's attorney, Mark Labaton, a grand jury in Boston is investigating the illegal promotion and marketing of Genotropin based on an investigation conducted by the US Attorney's office.

In addition according to news reports, the US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York also has an active criminal investigation involving Pfizer's off-label promotion of Lipitor, he says.

Mark Labaton, is a partner at the firm Kreindler & Kreindler, LLP, with offices in New York and LA. The firm handles cases including securities and consumer class actions, and FCA whistleblower, antitrust, and consumer cases.

His resume includes 7 years as an Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, where he prosecuted white-collar fraud cases, including whistleblower actions.

Pfizer is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, and according to Mr Labaton, Like most large pharmaceutical companies, it is financially and politically powerful.

Litigating against such companies is not for the faint-hearted, he warns.

But whistleblower lawyers are inspired by their clients, Mr Labaton says. Warts and all, these clients are a strong, determined, and courageous lot.

He claims that off-label promotion of drugs is a form of quackery that victimizes vulnerable individuals who take these drugs with serious and dangerous side effects for purposes never intended and approved by the FDA.

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Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for OpEd News and investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America.

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

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