Last Call

Pfizer is paying a record $2.3 billion fine to settle all legal matters due to Bextra and other drugs marketed at unsafe dosages.

Officials from the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services said the world's largest drug company promoted four drugs for use on certain ailments or at dosages that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

One of those drugs was the anti-inflammatory medication Bextra, which Pfizer pulled off the market in 2005 after it was linked to increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

"Pfizer promoted the sale of Bextra for several uses and dosages that the FDA specifically declined to approve due to safety concerns," the Justice Department said in a news release.

A Pfizer subsidiary, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for "misbranding Bextra with the intent to defraud or mislead."

The settlement announcement said Pfizer also illegally promoted the anti-psychotic drug Geodon, the antibiotic Zyvox and the anti-epilepsy drug Lyrica.

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli told reporters that recommending drugs for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration creates a situation where "public health may be at risk."

Fines with the word "billion" in them tend to get the attention of industries as a whole. Here's an idea: use the money to increase the Food and Drug Administration budget, eh?