Justice Delayed is Justice Denied? - Another Neurontin Settlement by Pfizer 20 Years After the Alleged Events

We have argued repeatedly against the strategy used by US government authorities to address allegations of bad behavior in health care (and elsewhere) by pursuing monetary settlements against the companies involved, rather than trying to impose penalties on the people who may have done wrong.  There are many apparent things wrong with this approach (which we will rant about again below), but one aspect that deserves more attention is its slowness.The Latest Pfizer Settlement For example, Bloomberg reported in early June about yet another settlement by Pfizer of allegations about the marketing of the drug Neurontin (gabapentin, made by its Parke-Davis subsidiary):Pfizer Inc agreed to pay $325 million to settle a lawsuit brought by health-care benefit providers who claimed the drugmaker marketed the epilepsy drug Neurontin for unapproved uses.The settlement, which needs approval from a federal judge in Boston, would end a case over claims that the company’s Parke-Davis unit schemed to market the drug for unapproved conditions as early as 1994. Thus this settlement occurred 20 years after the first actions were alleged to have occurred.Officially, "Pfizer Didn't Admit Wrongdoing" Despite Allegations of Kickbacks Otherwise, this particular settlement appears unremarkable.  As is typical, the federal authorities and the judge allowed a settlement which obscures what really happened, because,The Boston accord will resolve 'all third-party payer claims regarding off...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: kickbacks legal settlements Neurontin Pfizer Source Type: blogs