Pfizer to pay back $23.85 million over kickbacks

25 May 2018

While the financial damage from a court settlement announced on Thursday will barely cause a ripple at US drug giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), the reputational damage for paying illegal kickbacks could be more noticeable.

The world’s largest pharma company has agreed to pay $23.85 million to resolve claims that it used a foundation as a conduit to make the co-pays of Medicare patients taking three Pfizer drugs, in violation of the False Claims Act, the US Justice Department announced Thursday.

Sutent (sunitinib) and Inlyta (axitinib), which both treat renal cell carcinoma, and Tikosyn (dofetilide), a treatment for arrhythmia in patients with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, were the drugs concerned.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK