Pfizer Doesn’t Hold the Record for the Largest Healthcare Fraud Fine
The Claim
Pfizer paid the biggest fine for healthcare marketing fraud in history.
News posted on
Emerging story
On August 23, the FDA announced that it approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, the pharmaceutical company has been under even more scrutiny than usual. This includes the claim that Pfizer has been given the highest fine in all of healthcare marketing fraud history.
The claim states that Pfizer was sentenced to pay 2.3 billion dollars in fines.
Misbar’s Analysis
About ten years ago, this would be true. In 2009, Pfizer was fined 2.3 billion dollars for false claims related to the drug Bextra, which was pulled off the market in 2005. A still-accessible 2009 article from the DOJ’s website - titled “Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History” - can be found with a quick search.
It’s also the first result when you search “biggest healthcare fraud.” This may be why the claim is so widespread.
However, the record was “beaten” by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 2013. They were given a $3 billion fine for failing to disclose safety data on various medications.
We rank this as misleading because at one point it was true that Pfizer had the biggest healthcare fraud fine.
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