Pfizer's $2.3 billion payment on Bextra shows teeth of prosecutors
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Just after the announcement about its $68 billion buyout of Wyeth, Pfizer issued its fourth-quarter earnings report, where it startled some industry watchers by revealing a $2.3 billion charge to "resolve previously disclosed investigations" by the US Attorney's office in Massachusetts regarding alleged off-label promotions of the company's now withdrawn COX-2 inhibitor Bextra (valdecoxib), and "other open investigations" (Scrip Online, January 26th, 2009).