Pfizer Used Charity to Mask Heart Drug Price Hikes, U.S. Says
- Drugmaker settles Justice Dept. allegations it paid kickbacks
- U.S. says Pfizer funded charity, then raised drug’s price
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Pfizer Inc. used a “purportedly independent” charity to help it sharply raise the price of a heart drug, shielding patients from the increase while Medicare picked up the higher costs, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday in a civil settlement announcement.
Pfizer will pay about $24 million in the anti-kickback settlement, the government said in a statement. It’s the latest agreement in a long-running U.S. investigation into drugmaker ties to patient charities. Pfizer will also enter into a five-year monitoring agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.