Analysts predict that more suits of this kind are on the horizon. "States are going to tighten up this sort of thing because it's a way to control Medicare costs," Les Funtleyder, an analyst for Miller Tabak told CNN Moneyline on March 28, 2006.
"If suits like this start proving to be successful," he said, "then you'll start to see a cascade effect."
The list of initial plaintiffs participating in the class action include:
Southern Illinois Laborers and Employers Health and Welfare Fund
Midwestern Teamsters Heath & Welfare Fund (Illinois)
NECA-IBEW Health and Welfare Fund (Illinois)
Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund (Ohio)
Electrical Workers Benefit Trust Fund (Indiana)
Sidney Hillman Health Center of Rochester (New York State)
But then Pfizer and Lipitor are certainly no strangers to litigation, and ripping off government health care programs is nothing new for them either. Back in October, 2002, Pfizer paid $49 million to settle a federal qui tam lawsuit filed in Texas, with charges that the company overcharged for Lipitor and fraudulently avoided paying money owed to the state and federal government under the Medicaid Rebate program.
According to the Justice Department, the unreported discounts allowed the company to retain more than $20 million in rebates owed to Medicaid.
And for what it is worth, which apparently is nothing, in addition to the $20 million payment, the Justice Department said, Pfizer agreed to a 5-year corporate integrity agreement intended to prevent future problems.
The agreement is especially funny in light of the fact the company was busted for false advertising a month earlier in September 2002, when the FDA instructed Pfizer to immediately pull all magazine advertisements that claimed Lipitor caused fewer side effects than the other statin drugs.
According to the FDA, the ads appearing in magazines such as Reader's Digest and Time indicated that Lipitor "lacks" the side effects of other cholesterol drugs and claimed that other drugs in Lipitor's class of medications may cause a severe debilitating muscle condition.
The ads were knowingly false and misleading because at the time, Lipitor's own label stated that all statins increased a patient's chance of developing myositis and rhabdomyolysis, potentially fatal conditions that cause muscle pain and muscle deterioration, and may lead to kidney failure symptoms.
However, it appears that Pfizer's conduct of concealing and minimizing side effects has come back to haunt the drug maker. In June 2006, two men filed personal injury lawsuits against Pfizer, alleging that the company concealed serious health risks associated with Lipitor.
The lawsuits accuse Pfizer of promoting Lipitor as a safe drug and failing "to inform consumers and the medical profession of serious side effects associated with the statin Lipitor," according to a statement released by plaintiff attorney, Mark Krum.
Both plaintiffs, Charles Wilson, 60, a former insurance executive, and Michael Mazzariello, 47, an attorney from New York, filed their lawsuits in New York State Supreme Court.
Although they filed separate actions, each man is charging that Lipitor caused extensive memory loss, irreparable nerve damage, and bouts of fatigue.
Three years after terminating use of the drug, Mr Wilson says he continues to suffer from loss of balance, fatigue, and burning sensations in his hands and feet.
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