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 5 of 12 page(s)

opednews.com     Permalink

In the settlement agreement, the company admitted that it aggressively marketed the drug by illicit means for unapproved uses including pain, bipolar disorder, migraines, and drug and alcohol withdrawal.

The prosecutors described the harm that resulted from the off-label scheme as: (1) health care reimbursement programs such as Medicaid paid more in reimbursement; (2) consumers paid for ineffective, experimental use and may have been improperly medicated; (3) improper medication could have resulted where Neurontin was not as effective as another approved drug; and (4) unnecessary exposure of patients to adverse side effects of Neurontin.

The prosecutors said Warner-Lambert turned Neurontin into a blockbuster drug with promotional tactics like paying doctors "honoraria" to listen to sales pitches on the off-label use of the drug and by treating physicians to luxury trips to Florida, Hawaii, and Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics.

According to court documents filed in the case, doctors were paid honoraria to listen to presentations that took place at: “Bus to Yankee Stadium,” “World Yacht Cruise” and “Braves Stadium.”

On one weekend in April 1996, the DOJ discovered that Warner-Lambert had arranged 2 weekend “consultant” meetings, one at the Jupiter Beach Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, and the other at the Ritz-Carlton in Aspen, Colorado. Both were 3 day affairs, for which each attendee received a $250 cash payment, plus airfare, and all other expenses paid at the resort, and the doctors who acted as faculty were also paid between $1,500 and $2,000.

According to the DOJ, the total cost for the Jupiter Beach weekend was approximately $361,000 for about 100 doctors, meaning the price per doctor was about $3,000, and the cost of the Aspen weekend ran about the same.

Documents showed that both meetings included presentations on off-label topics such as “Neurontin: Use as Monotherapy,” and “Reduction of Pain Symptoms During Treatment with Gabapentin,” that were designed to present information to the attendees, rather than to receive information from consultants.

One advisory board was treated to an extravaganza at the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with free Olympics tickets valued at $650 each, the company staged an Epilepsy Advisory Meeting, at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort, in Atlanta.

The brochure for the event describes the resort as: "Chateau Elan has made a name for itself as a fine winery. It is now earning a reputation as a one-of-a-kind resort... Here, you'll enjoy all the comforts and amenities you'd expect of a fine resort, mellowed by the warm ambiance of a French country inn."

"During your meeting breaks," the brochure says, "you will have the opportunity to play a round at one of three accessible golf courses, swim, play tennis, explore the Georgia hill country by foot or by horseback, or escape to Chateau's European style spa for a pampering body treatment...."

For this event, records show the company paid all expenses for 18 advisers and their spouses, and each adviser was given $750 in cash for spending. In planning the Olympics advisory board meeting, a company document obtained by the DOJ, referred to the cost of the event as a “$3 million investment.”

Another example of the lavish meetings doctors attended for free, was the Western Advisory Board Meeting, held at the Grand Wailea Resort, Hotel & Spa in Maui, Hawaii in April 2000.

Only one of the attendees resided in Hawaii and the company paid for all of the others to fly to Hawaii for a two night stay at the resort to attend only 3 hours of meetings, all on off-label uses of Neurontin, according to the DOJ.

In planning this meeting, the company targeted doctors whose uses for Neurontin were only off-label and "evidence shows this event was promotional, not an independent, scientific meeting," according to the DOJ's sentencing memorandum.

The DOJ said Parke-Davis held hundreds of meetings where doctors were paid to attend, and paid even more to speak and that Parke-Davis was especially interested in two types of physicians: (1) those who prescribed large amounts of anti-convulsants; and (2) those who had a prominent reputation.

These doctors were often referred to as the “movers and shakers” or “thought leaders” because of their influence, and were recruited as spokespersons on behalf of Neurontin.

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