Pfizer's Pfourteenth Settlement - a Small Reminder of Continuing Impunity

Well, that did not take long.  Less than a month after its last legal settlements were announced, Pfizer had to settle again. The Details of the Settlement This case, involving charges filed by the Texas Attorney General, was only reported locally, e.g., here in the Houston Business Journal:The state of Texas will receive more than $36 million from two civil Medicaid fraud settlements with Pfizer Inc and Endo Pharmaceuticals,  Attorney General Greg Abbott said Friday. Both companies will pay $18.17 million to the state, plus attorney fees and relator shares. The federal government is also entitled to a share of the total settlement, Abbott’s statement said.As usual, the settlement was about deceptions: State and federal law requires drug companies disclose to the Medicaid program the prices they charge pharmacies, wholesalers and distributors for their products. Texas’ lawsuits claimed the companies misreported the price of various generic drugs and overcharged Medicaid for certain products.As usual, Pfizer had excuses:  In the Pfizer settlement, the state’s investigation originally targeted entities that are now wholly owned subsidiaries of Pfizer.In making the settlements, neither company is admitting to any wrongdoing.New York-based Pfizer released a statement saying the safety of its subsidiaries’ products was not an issue of the investigation and Pfizer was not a target or subject of the case. 'Pfizer’s subsidiaries are resolvi...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: executive compensation deception boards of directors impunity Pfizer legal settlements governance Source Type: blogs