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BOSTON—Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay $14.5 million to resolve whistle-blower claims related to its alleged improper marketing of the drug Detrol, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
The settlement with the New York-based pharmaceutical firm, which was announced Friday, resolves the last of 10 whistle-blower suits dating back to 2003.
The other nine suits were settled or dismissed in 2009 as part of a combined civil and criminal resolution of claims against Pfizer, under which the company agreed to pay $2.3 billion to resolve civil claims and criminal charges regarding multiple drugs, the office said.
The latest settlement involves charges that Pfizer illegally marketed Detrol, a drug to treat overactive bladders in male patients suffering from an enlarged prostate and several allied conditions, notably lower urinary tract symptoms and bladder outlet obstruction. None of the uses had received Food and Drug Administration approval.
Of the $14.5 million settlement, $11.8 million will be recovered by the federal government and $2.6 million recovered by state Medicaid program. Whistle-blowers will receive a share of the federal recovery totaling $3.2 million, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
A Pfizer spokesman could not be reached for comment.
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a group of large pharmaceutical companies cannot be sued by a California county for allegedly overcharging for prescription drugs in violation of federal law.