What Can We Learn From the Pfizer Whistleblowers? (Part 2 Added)

An excellent post on past Pfizer whistleblowers and how they have exposed this corrupt organization’s practices. I always find it concerning that so few come forward, but God bless those that do put themselves in harm’s way to expose criminal and unethical behavior. It begs the question, why would you take any of their products without a serious effort to research it for yourself. Stop trusting the white coats that you can see below have been guilty of taking kickbacks to prescribe and promote drugs. The second link is part 2 of the series.

https://amidwesterndoctor.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-the-pfizer

https://amidwesterndoctor.substack.com/p/what-was-seen-by-the-pfizer-whistleblowers

List of the largest settlements of pharma companies and why, and shows even when they control the regulators they go too far, at least back between 1991 to 2013. Just read through the violations and see this is just rampant practice in the industry of breaking the law for profits. And the fines usually are severely dwarfed by profits and considered just part of doing business.

Year	Company	Settlement	Violation(s)	Product(s)	Laws violated (if applicable)
2012	GlaxoSmithKline[1][6]	$3 billion ($1B criminal, $2B civil)	Criminal: Off-label promotion, failure to disclose safety data. Civil: paying kickbacks to physicians, making false and misleading statements concerning the safety of Avandia, reporting false best prices and underpaying rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program	Avandia (not providing safety data), Wellbutrin, Paxil (promotion of paediatric use), Advair, Lamictal, Zofran, Imitrex, Lotronex, Flovent, Valtrex	False Claims Act, FDCA
2009	Pfizer[2]	$2.3 billion	Off-label promotion, kickbacks	Bextra, Geodon, Zyvox, Lyrica	False Claims Act, FDCA
2013	Johnson & Johnson[7]	$2.2 billion	Off-label promotion, kickbacks	Risperdal, Invega, Nesiritide	False Claims Act, FDCA
2012	Abbott Laboratories[8]	$1.5 billion	Off-label promotion	Depakote	False Claims Act, FDCA
2009	Eli Lilly[9]	$1.4 billion	Off-label promotion	Zyprexa	False Claims Act, FDCA
2001	TAP Pharmaceutical Products[10]	$875 million	Medicare fraud, kickbacks	Lupron	False Claims Act, Prescription Drug Marketing Act
2012	Amgen[11]	$762 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks	Aranesp	False Claims Act, FDCA
2010	GlaxoSmithKline[12]	$750 million	Poor manufacturing practices	Kytril, Bactroban, Paxil CR, Avandamet	False Claims Act, FDCA
2005	Serono[13]	$704 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks, monopolistic practices	Serostim	False Claims Act
2008	Merck[14]	$650 million	Medicare fraud, kickbacks	Zocor, Vioxx, Pepsid	False Claims Act, Medicaid Rebate Statute
2007	Purdue Pharma[15]	$601 million	Off-label promotion	Oxycontin	False Claims Act
2010	Allergan[16]	$600 million	Off-label promotion	Botox	False Claims Act, FDCA
2010	AstraZeneca[17]	$520 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks	Seroquel	False Claims Act
2007	Bristol-Myers Squibb[18]	$515 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks, Medicare fraud	Abilify, Serzone	False Claims Act, FDCA
2002	Schering-Plough[19]	$500 million	Poor manufacturing practices	Claritin	FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practices
2006	Mylan[20]	$465 million	Misclassification under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program	EpiPen (epinephrine)	False Claims Act
2006	Schering-Plough[21]	$435 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks, Medicare fraud	Temodar, Intron A, K-Dur, Claritin RediTabs	False Claims Act, FDCA
2004[22]	Pfizer	$430 million	Off-label promotion	Neurontin	False Claims Act, FDCA
2008	Cephalon[23]	$425 million	Off-label promotion[23]	Actiq, Gabitril, Provigil	False Claims Act, FDCA
2010	Novartis[24]	$423 million	Off-label promotion, kickbacks	Trileptal	False Claims Act, FDCA
2003	AstraZeneca[25]	$355 million	Medicare fraud	Zoladex	Prescription Drug Marketing Act
2004	Schering-Plough[26]	$345 million	Medicare fraud, kickbacks	Claritin	False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute