The Qui Tam Blog

Pfizer Inc. agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations related to marketing of its drug Detrol.  The qui tam suit alleged that Pfizer illegally marketed Detrol–a drug approved for the treatment of overactive bladder–for use in men with enlarged prostates and related conditions, including bladder obstruction. Pfizer denied all allegations of wrongdoing in a statement.

Of the $14.5 million settlement, $11,878,846 will go to the federal government, and $2,621,154 will go to state Medicaid programs.  The whistleblowers will receive  a relator’s share of $3,282,019 under the False Claims Act.  The settlement was part of the governments’ Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), announced in May 2009 by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services.