Pfizer Drug Ethical Dilemmas

In 2009, Pfizer faced the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the history, a fine of $2.3 billion by the United States Department of Justice for illegally promoting four drugs – Bextra; Geodon; Zyvox; and Lyrica, that were not approved by medical regulators (The US Department of Justice, 2009). Pfizer misbranded the drugs with the intent to defraud or mislead and promoted unsafe uses and dosages. False claims were sent to government healthcare programs with instructions for use in situations that did NOT warrant the drug. Additionally, there were reportedly bribing doctors and treating them well to entice them to prescribe their drugs. Pfizer could have avoided these ethical issues by considering the alternatives: not market the drugs …show more content…
At Pfizer, we 're inspired by a single goal: your health. That 's why we 're dedicated to developing new, safe medicines to prevent and treat the world 's most serious diseases. And why we are making them available to the people who need them most. We believe that from progress comes hope and the promise of a healthier world” (Pfizer, 2015). Amidst Pfizers’ mission and vision statement, they promised to provide safe and harm free drugs. However, they have failed and these particular ethical issues show the little respect they have for their consumers’ well being, causing people not to trust in the company. According to Amy W. Schulman, senior vice president and general counsel of Pfizer, “the company is relieved to have this matter resolved, as it can now enhance its focus on what it does nest as a pharmaceutical company: discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines, however we regret certain actions taken in the past, but are proud of the action we’ve taken to strengthen our internal controls and pioneer new procedures” (Alazarki, …show more content…
Pfizer has Web-based portals to manage all documents and other segments of knowledge associated with product life cycle development process. Pfizer’s Global Research Division intranet has various organized applications that include an internal telephone directory, access to scientific publications and sharing research findings globally. Its knowledge management systems are linked to 500 strategic alliances to collect legacy data and collaborate on projects more efficiently. It is linked to a toll called E-sub, which enables the company to access data to expedite preparations for new drug applications, known as (NDAs) required by the