SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay
Oregon more than $3.3 million to settle claims that the company used
misleading statements and studies to market an antibiotic.
The
settlement announced Tuesday by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger
comes after a two-year state investigation of Pfizer’s marketing of
Zyvox, which is used to treat pneumonia and bacterial skin infections.
Pfizer
used "unreliable and unsubstantiated claims" in marketing Zyvox as a
better choice than a cheaper, generic antibiotic, the state said.
Pfizer’s sales representatives distributed copies of flawed clinical
studies throughout Oregon to support the marketing claims, according to
the state Justice Department.
The settlement was filed in Marion County Circuit Court.
Pfizer
denied the allegations, The Oregonian reported (http://is.gd/oWUCwe).
In a statement, the company said it was "pleased to resolve this
investigation and avoid the further time and cost of litigation."
The
Oregon settlement builds on a 2009 multistate settlement that involved
Zyvox and other drugs, the newspaper reported. In that case, federal
prosecutors hit Pfizer with $2.3 billion in fines.
"Our
investigation was aggressive, detailed, went places that the federal
settlement didn’t and provided additional settlement to the state of
Oregon," said David Hart, a state senior assistant attorney general who
headed the probe.
The money will reimburse the State Accident
Insurance Fund and the Department of Corrections for previous Zyvox
purchases. It also will go to fund a new program for consumer education
and efforts to teach consumers about proper use of antibiotics.
Some of the proceeds will go into a fund for the state’s consumer protection activities.
___
Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.