Pfizer agrees to pay $325 million over Neurontin

US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has agreed a $325 million settlement over a trial regarding the marketing of Neurontin (gabapentin) for epilepsy.

In December 2013 the US Supreme Court stood by a $142 million ruling by the jury in the original trial, which ruled in favor of an insurer that claimed it was misled into paying out for the drug for unapproved indications. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, one of the USA's largest health maintenance organizations, and affiliates were “damaged,” said the jury, because they paid for prescriptions relating to conditions Neurontin did not effectively treat. These included bipolar disorder, migraines and neuropathic pain. Pfizer appealed to the Supreme Court to rescind the decision but this was rejected.

Pfizer’s preliminary accord, agreed on Friday in the US District Court in Boston, resolves allegations that the drug maker marketed the drug for uses which were not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.