• Adweek, Monday, September 11, 2006 12:15 PM

A Massachusetts U.S. District Court judge has dismissed the lawsuit brought by Peter Rost claiming that Pharmacia, which Pfizer acquired in April 2003, illegally sold Genotropin, a human-growth-hormone brand, for "off label" (legally unproved) purposes. Rost claimed that Pharmacia marketed Genotropin to anti-aging specialists who falsely promised wealthy clients the fountain of youth. Judge Joseph Tauro wrote that for Rost's suit to succeed, he needed to produce evidence that Pharmacia and Pfizer had orchestrated the submission of bills to the government for reimbursement for "off-label" Genotropin treatments. Rost noted that the suit had been dismissed only because he had failed to meet one technical test--evidence of a specific bill--and said last week that he intends to amend his complaint to address the evidence deficiency and will appeal. Last November, the Boston U.S. Attorney's Office announced that after a year-long investigation, it would not get involved in Rost's whistle-blowing case.

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