How come the Justice Department is praising Pfizer and not Rost?
"The Justice Department praised Pfizer for self-reporting," Rost told Corporate Crime Reporter. "But Pfizer would have done nothing if I didn't twist its arm. I was floored when I read the press release. They have one guy who lost his career, lost his job for doing the right thing. That would be me. And they praised the company that fired me?"
In fact, the U.S. Attorney's criminal investigation was triggered by the filing of Rost's False Claims Act case.
Rost documents the history of the case in his book--The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman.
And Rost testified twice before the federal grand jury in Boston that investigated the Pfizer criminal wrongdoing.
And yet the federal government refused to join Rost in his False Claims Act case.
Why?
"Not only didn't they join in the False Claims Act case, they didn't even say thank you," Rost said. "They praised Pfizer, but not me. Instead, in the press release they negotiated with Pfizer, they state that 'Pfizer acted responsibly when it self-disclosed to various federal government agencies in May 2003.' There's not a word about the whistleblower that Pfizer fired, or that the whistleblower fought since October 2002, trying to get the company to rectify and disclose the problems."
Rost said his lawyers will seek to open negotiations with prosecutors in Boston this week to reach a settlement.
The Pfizer unit that pled guilty will pay a criminal fine of $19.98 million.
And federal prosecutors boasted that this company will be "excluded permanently from participation in all federal health care programs."
Translated--the unit that pled guilty is an empty closet somewhere inside the Pfizer beast--there is probably nothing to exclude.
Federal officials alleged that Pharmacia violated the federal anti-kickback law by offering to make $12.3 million in excess payments on a distribution to a pharmacy benefit manager in the expectation of obtaining improved positioning for its drug products.
Federal officials alleged that the other unit--Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC--illegally promoted and distributed Genotropin.
Genotropin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration solely for the treatment children with growth related diseases.
Instead, Pharmacia engaged in the unlawful promotion of the drug for uses not approved by the FDA such as anti-aging, cosmetic use and athletic performance enhancement.
This unit--the LLC unit--probably has something to lose. That's why it wasn't forced to plead guilty. Instead, it was granted a deferred prosecution agreement.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
