BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Pfizer pharmaceuticals news

September 7, 2009 7:00 AM UTC

Pfizer will pay $2.3 billion as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle investigations related to past off-label promotional practices. The amount includes a $1.3 billion criminal penalty related to Bextra valdecoxib. The second-generation cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor that was marketed to treat osteoarthritis, adult rheumatoid arthritis and primary dysmenorrhea, but was pulled from the market in 2005 due to an unfavorable risk/benefit profile.

Pfizer denies all of the civil allegations, with the exception of certain improper actions related to promoting Zyvox. ...