Pfizer fined $2.3B in record fraud settlement
Pharma giant illegally promoted product, Justice Department says, in largest health care fraud settlement in history.
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| Pfizer pled guilty to misbranding the anti-inflammatory arthritis drug Bextra "with the intent to defraud or mislead." |
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Drug manufacturing giant Pfizer has agreed to pay a $2.3 billion penalty for illegally promoting its pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The agreement is the largest health care fraud settlement in the department's history, Justice officials said.
Pharmacia and Upjohn Company, a Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) subsidiary, has agreed to plead guilty to misbranding the anti-inflammatory arthritis drug Bextra "with the intent to defraud or mislead," the department announced.
Bextra was pulled from the market in 2005 at the request of the Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer previously disclosed the $2.3 billion payment in a January filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 
