Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:41pm EST
(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc will compensate $55 million and seductiveness to settle charges that Wyeth promoted a poison reflux drug Protonix for unapproved uses and done unproven claims about a medicine, a U.S. Department of Justice pronounced on Wednesday.
The infractions took place between Feb 2000 and Jun 2001, prolonged before a world’s largest drugmaker acquired Wyeth in 2009 for $68 billion. Protonix, that belongs to a category of widely used medicines called electron siphon inhibitors (PPI), has given left off obvious and is accessible in inexpensive general versions as pantoprazole.
Protonix was authorized by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration for short-term diagnosis of astringent esophagitis -a condition associated to gastro-esophageal reflux disease, or GERD, that can usually be diagnosed around endoscopy.
The Justice Department indicted Wyeth of training a sales force to foster Protonix for all forms of GERD, that is distant some-more common and expected to lead to significantly aloft sales.
“Wyeth attempted to lie a complement by receiving a singular FDA capitulation for Protonix, entirely intending to foster this drug for additional, unapproved uses,” U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz pronounced in a statement.
In addition, Wyeth allegedly promoted Protonix as a “best PPI for night heartburn” even yet there was never any clinical justification that it was some-more effective than any other PPI, such as AstraZeneca’s Nexium, for that use, a Justice Department said.
Pfizer released a matter observant that it was not a aim or theme of this case, though felt that settling it was in a best interest.
“Resolving this review per Wyeth’s chronological promotional practices of Protonix is a right thing to do,” a association said. “In settling, we equivocate both a cost and daze of lawsuit and we specifically repudiate a allegations of wrongdoing.”
Pfizer shares were down 14 cents during $25.50 in midday trade on a New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Tim Dobbyn)
Source: Health Medicine Network