Big Pharma's illegal marketing practices

Collectively, Pfizer, Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. have spent approximately $3.7 billion in settlements this year alone for illegal marketing practices.

In September, Pfizer was ordered by the Justice Department to pay $2.3 billion for illegal drug promotion on 13 different medications, including the anti-anxiety drug Zoloft and the anti-psychotic Geodon. Pfizer’s $1.2 billion criminal fine is the largest in U.S. criminal case history. The Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli said not only did Pfizer give doctors expense-paid consultant meeting at exotic resorts, their marketing department also promoted off-label drug uses. All medications must be FDA-approved to treat any illness for which they are prescribed, but Pfizer allegedly promoted their arthritis-approved drug Bextra for the treatment of acute and surgical pain. Furthermore, they promoted the drug at levels above the FDA-approved dosage.

Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. is now paying a $24 million civil settlement to the state of Utah for off-label marketing of their anti-psychotic Zyprexa. Approved for the treatment of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says Lilly was marketing the drug for other non-FDA approved uses like dementia, Alzheimer's, depression, and agitation [AP]. The settlement was announced Nov. 11, the day after Lilly's stock dropped from a 52-week high. Speculation of Lilly's rebound might have been squashed. Oct. 23, Lilly agreed to a $45 million settlement with the state of South Carolina for similar off-label marketing of their bestselling drug Zyprexa. Lilly's marketing practices have been under federal and state investigations. In January they made an agreement with the Federal Justice Department to pay $1.42 billion to 32 states. 

Not only is off-label marketing potentially harmful to patients it defrauds state resources for mental healthcare. Medicaid programs in over 30 states received an estimated $362 million from Lilly. Pfizer’s fine includes $331 million for forty-nine states and the District of Columbia.

How can a patient be sure they aren’t be prescribed a drug for an unapproved ailment? Editor of Concumer Reports Best Buy Drugs Lisa Gill says, “Consumers should ask their doctor whether the medication being prescribed is FDA-approved for their condition” [NY Times]. Knowing what is at stake for doctors is also important. From the hands of the chemists to the hands of the marketers, a drug can undergo a deadly misleading makeover.