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Pfizer to Pay Oregon $3.34 in Zyvox Marketing Fraud Settlement
Portland, OR: Attorney General John Kroger has announced a $3.34 million agreement with the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, Inc., over allegedly deceptive marketing claims related to its prescription drug Zyvox®. This is the largest ever consumer drug agreement that Oregon has achieved with a prescription drug manufacturer.
The settlement follows a two-year investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice into evidence that suggested Pfizer was using unreliable and unsubstantiated claims to promote Zyvox®, a relatively new and expensive antibiotic used for treating certain types of pneumonia and bacterial skin infections. Despite lacking evidence required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make such claims, Pfizer allegedly relied upon flawed clinical studies to substantiate assertions that Zyvox® was a superior to vancomycin, a comparatively inexpensive generic drug that holds the largest market share and has been available for more than 40 years. Pfizer's sales representatives detailed and distributed thousands of copies of these faulty studies throughout Oregon to promote the sale of Zyvox®.
Under the settlement filed in Marion County Circuit Court, Pfizer must pay over $3.34 million to Oregon to fully reimburse the State Accident Insurance Fund and Oregon Department of Corrections for purchases they made of Zyvox and to fund a new Consumer Education and Antimicrobial Stewardship Program administered by the Oregon Public Health Division/Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology and the Oregon Patient Safety Commission.
Published on Mar-21-12
The settlement follows a two-year investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice into evidence that suggested Pfizer was using unreliable and unsubstantiated claims to promote Zyvox®, a relatively new and expensive antibiotic used for treating certain types of pneumonia and bacterial skin infections. Despite lacking evidence required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make such claims, Pfizer allegedly relied upon flawed clinical studies to substantiate assertions that Zyvox® was a superior to vancomycin, a comparatively inexpensive generic drug that holds the largest market share and has been available for more than 40 years. Pfizer's sales representatives detailed and distributed thousands of copies of these faulty studies throughout Oregon to promote the sale of Zyvox®.
Under the settlement filed in Marion County Circuit Court, Pfizer must pay over $3.34 million to Oregon to fully reimburse the State Accident Insurance Fund and Oregon Department of Corrections for purchases they made of Zyvox and to fund a new Consumer Education and Antimicrobial Stewardship Program administered by the Oregon Public Health Division/Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology and the Oregon Patient Safety Commission.
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