Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1003

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Pfizer To Pay $6M To Settle Investigation into Marketing Tactics for Children's Antibiotic
Kaiser Daily Report www.kaisernetwork.org 2003 Jan 7
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15374

Notes:

Access this story and related links online: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15374

Full text:

Pfizer on Jan. 6 said it would pay $6 million to settle an investigation brought by 19 states into how the company promoted its antibiotic Zithromax to treat ear infections in children, the New York Times reports (Petersen, New York Times, 1/7). The states had claimed Pfizer “misrepresented” the drug’s effectiveness compared to other antibiotics (Hensley, Wall Street Journal, 1/7). They also accused the drug maker of not disclosing the risks of antibiotic overuse. Under the agreement, Pfizer will pay the states $4 million for the cost of the investigation and legal fees and will subsidize a $2 million public service advertisement campaign over the next three years, alerting parents that antibiotics “cannot be used to treat an ear infection that is caused by a virus,” the Times reports. Pfizer admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, stating that all advertisements and promotions were approved by the FDA. The company said that it settled to avoid “unnecessary legal costs,” according to the Times (New York Times, 1/7). New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) said in a statement, “This agreement sends a strong message that advertisements that mislead or fail to provide complete information about pharmaceutical products will meet with tough enforcement actions” (Schwab,Newark Star-Ledger, 1/7). Zithromax accounted for $929 million in sales in the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2002 (Wall Street Journal, 1/7).