Pfizer to pay record $2.3B penalty over promotions

Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug maker, will pay a record $2.3 billion civil and criminal penalty over unlawful prescription drug promotions, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

[AliceInWonderlan d]

Finally they caught the phamaceuticals (legal drug pushers) pushing their illegal drugs. I'm sure they have been doing this all along. Their greed surpasses the drug cartels. They have the legal right to push their drugs to the public - it just so happens that they were caught crossing the line - which I'm sure they have been doing for years.

[Pharmgirl]

Well, look what happened with the drug Vioxx, that maimed and killed thousands, but very little was said about that. And us claimants have been waiting for compensation for years, and still not got closure. Heart attack and stroke victims are treated just like another number. There is no telling how many people died from this terrible deadly poison, but yet it's been silenced, and if a whistleblower hadn't said something, and if I am not mistaken, he died under mysterious circumstances.If he hadn't had the guts to come forward, it would have still been on the market because it was a big profit drug, and do you think there has ever once been one apology? Hell no. And the victims are still just what they are, victims, lives ruined forever.

[Pharmgirl]

I need to clarify that Merck was the maker of Vioxx.

[The Screaming Herd]

Big Pharma along with Big Health Insurance is spending millions to see that the Health Care reform fails so they can continue their corrupt ways.

What is so humorous about all of this, is the conservative lobbying organizations are receiving much of this money to mobilize the old pot bellied or brain washed Republicans to disrupt any meaningful health care reform. What a bunch of cattle these people are. They are being used by a corrupt industry promoting lies and making oublic fools of themselves supporting this machine of lies - just so the big boys can continue to profit.

I can only hope that in the end, God will punish all the greedy, those that scream for political power over the needy and even the weak minded that keep all of this going.