Huge Fines, Settlements and Lawsuits are all Just Part of Doing Business for Big Pharma

 Huge Fines, Settlements and Lawsuits are all Just Part of Doing Business for Big Pharma

by Tony Isaacs

 (The Best Years in Life) In 2012, five pharmaceutical companies agreed to pay nearly $5.5 billion to settle allegations of fraud, including promotion of medicines for uses not approved by the FDA. The settlements represent the continued trend of record-breaking fines, settlements and lawsuits which have become a routine part of doing business for Big Pharma.

Between 2004 and 2010, major drug companies paid out $7 billion in fines, penalties and lawsuits for fraudulently marketing their drugs, making misleading claims about the drugs safety and hiding or altering studies which indicated evidence of harm. The threat of massive payouts does not appear to offer much deterrent.

Even the largest of settlements rarely dents the profits associated with the drugs involved. The largest fine ever imposed thus far - last July's $3 billion judgment against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for illegally marketing the antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin, withholding health risks data of the diabetes medication Avandia and other wrongdoings - accounted for just 11 percent of associated revenue. By contrast, in most individual cases of fraud all profits are typically confiscated and the fraudster goes to prison.  Read More.