Two separate deals are reached with the Department of Justice over a celebrated case that was initiated by Peter Rost, the notorious whistleblower, who worked at Pharmacia before it was acquired by Pfizer and was responsible for overseeing the marketing of the Genotropin human growth hormone.

In the first settlement, Pfizer’s Pharmacia & Upjohn subsidiary agrees to plead guilty to a single count of offering to an outside vendor “renumeration” in the form of a contract. The contract was awarded the vendor in 2000 to manage a Genotropin patient assistance program as an inducement for recommending the purchase of Pharmacia drugs. The unit has no “operational role” at Pfizer anymore, but will pay a $19.7 million fine and is disqualified from participating in government health care programs.

In the other settlement, another Pharmacia & Upjohn unit signed a Deferred Prosecution Agreement that includes a $15 million fine over improper promotion of Genotropin. In its statement, Pfizer says it discovered the violation and reported it to the Justice Department and the Office of the Inspector General, although Rost maintains he uncovered the wrongdoing.

Under the agreement, no criminal charges are being filed. “As the Department of Justice has acknowledged, Pfizer voluntarily and fully self-disclosed the off-label promotion of Genotropin by a Pharmacia subsidiary before Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer,” says Allen Waxman, Pfizer’s general counsel. “Pfizer’s marketing and promotion practices are not involved in the settlement. The company has internal controls to guard against these types of practices.”

Rost, who is pressing his whisteblower lawsuit, tells Pharmalot that he feels ”vindicated,” and adds that “I got zero” from today’s settlement.

Pfizer statement;
Rost’s book about his days at Pharmacia and Pfizer.[tags]Off-Label Marketing, Peter Rost, Pfizer, Pharmacia[/tags]