Pfizer's lawyers have been busy lately. Deal-making, due diligence, whistleblower lawsuits, off-label marketing settlements--you name it. Here's a roundup of recent news courtesy of the company's many attorneys.
- The state of South Carolina has reached a nearly $12.7 million settlement with Pfizer over a probe into the company's sales tactics. Under the agreement, Pfizer will pay $11.03 million and donate $1.65 million worth of medicines to free clinics throughout the state. Story
- Becky McClain, a scientist who claims to have been infected by an experimental virus while working at Pfizer's Groton, CT, laboratories, was awarded $1.37 million by a federal jury that found the company had retaliated against her and interfered with her right to free speech. Report
- The company agreed mid-trial to pay about $400,000 to settle a lawsuit that blamed its Neurontin epilepsy medicine for helping cause a Massachusetts man's suicide, two people familiar with the accord tell Bloomberg. It is the first settlement of a Neurontin-related suicide claim. Article
- When investigating Pfizer for off-label marketing of Bextra and other drugs, federal prosecutors recognized that pressing a fraud case against the company could end up barring it from Medicare and Medicaid, thus cutting many patients off from their medications, causing losses to shareholders and costing the jobs of workers who weren't involved in selling the drugs. So a new subsidiary--Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. Inc.--was charged with the crime instead, CNN reports. Item