A new whistleblower lawsuit accuses Pfizer Inc., manufacturer of the cholesterol-lowering prescription drug Lipitor, of deceptive marketing practices resulting in fraud.
The lawsuit was filed by Health Support Awareness Inc. on behalf of the federal government under the federal False Claims Act that permits entities or private citizens to bring allegations of defrauding the U.S. government. The suit claims that the deceptive marketing of Lipitor resulted in fraud against Medicare, Medicaid and others.
Pfizer is already facing multiple lawsuits brought by individuals who allege that use of Lipitor leads to the development of Type 2 diabetes. At least 100 of these product liability lawsuits connecting Lipitor with diabetes have been filed in the United States and a hearing for potential consolidation of these cases into federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) is scheduled to begin Jan. 30, 2014.
The statin medication Lipitor is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating high cholesterol. However, in 2012, medical researched published in JAMA: Internal Medicine found that statins increased the risk of developing diabetes for post-menopausal women. This prompted an FDA investigation, which concluded with an order that Pfizer add a warning to the Lipitor label reflecting the risk.
Another study, published by the British Medical Journal in May of 2013, found that all patients taking Lipitor faced an increased risk of 22 percent for developing Type 2 diabetes.
The case filed by Health Support Awareness seeks civil penalties as well as treble damage “in connection with the systematic misbranding and illegal marketing by Pfizer,” states the lawsuit. In addition, the complaint states, “Pfizer’s aggressive attitude to increase sales and market share resulted in unprecedented profits at the expense of the entire health care system.”
If you or a loved one has been adversely affected by Lipitor or another prescription drug, the national defective drug lawyers at Flood Law Group can help you seek monetary compensation. To learn more, contact us today.
