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Wednesday March 29, 4:00 AM
Pfizer faces class-action lawsuit over blockbuster drug LipitorPfizer was hit with a class-action lawsuit filed by health insurance managers who accused the US pharmaceutical giant of "fraudulent" sales of its blockbuster drug Lipitor. The suit filed in New Jersey alleges the world's biggest drugs company has marketed the best-selling high cholesterol medication for uses that are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Jay Eisenhofer of the law firm Grant and Eisenhofer, which is representing the healthcare managers, said the suit accused Pfizer of racketeering, fraud and violation of state consumer protection laws. "Once you connect the dots and see the elaborate sophistication and reach of Pfizer's plan to go way beyond the federally mandated guidelines for prescribing Lipitor, there is no other way to describe it except as a fraudulent scheme, whose true purpose has been to extract illegal payments from third-party payors for Lipitor's off-label use," Eisenhofer said. The complainants are seeking unspecified damages and compensation from Pfizer, which relied on Lipitor to generate more than one-third of its fourth-quarter revenues of 13.59 billion dollars. They said the FDA had twice cited Pfizer for improperly marketing Lipitor, including by downplaying the drug's harmful side-effects and for ignoring the "critical role" played by exercise and diet in lowering cholesterol.
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