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The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

Pfizer, Inc.

U.S. ex rel. Wetherholt and Drimer v. Pfizer (Illegal Marketing of Detrol)

Date: 10/21/2011 (Date of Settlement Announcement)

Misconduct Type: Health

Enforcement Agency: Health and Human Servs.

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $14,500,000

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: Pfizer agreed to pay $14.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations related to its marketing of the drug Detrol. The government alleged Pfizer marketed Detrol for uses that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The settlement resolved the last of a group of whistleblower lawsuits filed in federal courts beginning in 2003. The other suits were settled or dismissed in 2009 as part of global settlement under which Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion dollars to resolve civil and criminal claims regarding the illegal marketing of multiple drugs (see Pfizer instance, “Illegal Marketing of Bextra and Other Drugs”).