KALAMAZOO – Michigan will get about $1.3 million from Pfizer in a deceptive marketing practice settlement with 33 states, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette said.
The settlement resolves allegations that the New York-based drugmaker engaged in deceptive marketing practices in relation to two of its drugs, Zyvox and Lyrica.
The judgment awarding Michigan’s funds had not yet been finalized, but was expected soon, a spokesman for Schuette said.
In the case, the states’ attorneys general alleged that Pfizer engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in its promotion of Zyvox, an antibacterial agent, by claiming it was superior to a generic version, vancomycin.
They also accused Pfizer, one of Kalamazoo County’s largest employers, of engaging in “off-label” marketing of Lyrica — used to treat seizures, nerve pain and fybromyalgia — for uses not approved by the F.D.A.
Under the consent judgment, Pfizer also agreed to reform how it markets the drugs.
