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Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

Did the US government levy a $2.3 billion fine in 2009 against Pfizer for fraud?

Austin Tannenbaum, Gigafact Foundry
yes

In 2009, Pfizer Inc. was fined $2.3 billion for fraudulent marketing of several drugs in what was then the largest such fraud settlement in health care. The Justice Department said the company marketed drugs for uses that federal regulators "specifically declined to approve due to safety concerns."

Fines for health care fraud have since ranged higher: $3 billion against GlaxoSmithKline in 2012 for violating promotion, safety, and price laws, and $8 billion earlier this year against Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma for its role in creating the opioid epidemic.

Pfizer is developing a potential vaccine against the coronavirus. If it's successful, the U.S. government has agreed to buy up to 600 million doses of the vaccine for $1.95 billion.

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