Pfizer has admitted that a company it acquired--Pharmacia--improperly promoted the human-growth hormone Genotropin for anti-aging purposes, improved athletic performance, and enhanced appearance. It
agreed to pay $34.7 million to end an investigation by the Department of Justice, but the settlement requires Pfizer executives to cooperate with any ongoing grand jury probes.
The
company also said it will plead guilty to a single count of making kickbacks to an unnamed outside vendor to increase sales. The agreement describes how Pharmacia awarded a contract to a pharmacy
benefit manager in return for that company recommending that its customers purchase other Pharmacia products. The vendor got the contract, despite a competing bid that was "$12 million less expensive"
than the vendors' bid.
Pfizer distanced itself from the probe in a press release. "Pfizer's marketing and promotion practices are not involved in the settlement," according to Pfizer
Senior Vice President-General Counsel Allen Waxman.
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