March 25, 2010, Pfizer to pay $142M for drug fraud. Pfizer provided this media release in response to the United States court ruling:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2010

CONTACT: Chris Loder (212) 733-7897

STATEMENT REGARDING VERDICT
IN KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITALS V. PFIZER INC.

NEW YORK – A jury in the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Pfizer Inc. case in United States District Court in the District of Massachusetts today found that Kaiser was entitled to recover monies it paid for Neurontin, a medicine manufactured by Pfizer.

Pfizer issued the following statement after the jury verdict:

“We are disappointed with the verdict and will pursue post-trial motions and an appeal. While the jury awarded the plaintiffs less than half of what they were seeking in damages, the verdict and the judge’s rulings are not consistent with the facts and the law. What the jurors heard in the courtroom is not what Kaiser is telling its patients. In fact, Kaiser itself continues to recommend Neurontin for the same uses they sought recovery for in this case. Kaiser’s own physicians and several of their expert witnesses prescribed Neurontin for their patients based on their sound medical judgment.”

Neurontin is an important FDA-approved medicine that physicians have prescribed to treat millions of patients safely and effectively. Neurontin has been widely studied for more than two decades and there is an extensive body of publicly available literature on its safety and its use.

To learn more, please visit www.pfizer.com.