Wyeth Fined $490.9 Million for Unlawful Marketing of Rapamune

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $490.9 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the unlawful marketing of the prescription drug Rapamune for uses not approved as safe and effective by FDA, the Justice Department announced in a statement.

The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) requires a company to specify the intended uses of a product in its new drug application to the FDA. Once approved, a drug may not be introduced into interstate commerce for unapproved or off-label uses until the company receives FDA approval for the new intended uses.

In 1999, Wyeth received approval from the FDA for Rapamune, an immunosuppressive drug that prevents the body’s immune system from rejecting a transplanted organ, for use in renal transplant patients. However, the information alleges, Wyeth trained its national Rapamune sales force to promote the use of the drug in non-renal transplant patients, the Justice Department reports.

Wyeth has pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging it with a misbranding violation under the FDCA. The resolution includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $233.5 million Under a plea agreement, which has been accepted by the U.S District Court in Oklahoma City, Wyeth has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $157.58 million and forfeit assets of $76 million.

The resolution also includes civil settlements with the federal government and the states totaling $257.4 million. The government alleged that Wyeth violated the False Claims Act, from 1998 through 2009, by promoting Rapamune for unapproved uses, some of which were not medically accepted indications and, therefore, were not covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs. These unapproved uses included non-renal transplants, conversion use (switching a patient from another immunosuppressant to Rapamune) and using Rapamune in combination with other immunosuppressive agents not listed on the label.

Pfizer, which acquired Wyeth in 2009, is currently subject to a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General that it entered in connection with another matter in 2009, shortly before acquiring Wyeth. The CIA covers former Wyeth employees who now perform sales and marketing functions at Pfizer. Under the CIA, Pfizer is subject to exclusion from federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for a material breach of the CIA, and the company is subject to monetary penalties for less significant breaches.

The civil settlement resolves two lawsuits pending in federal court in the Western District of Oklahoma under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The first action was filed by a former Rapamune sales representative, Marlene Sandler, and a pharmacist, Scott Paris. The second action was filed by a former Rapamune sales representative, Mark Campbell. The whistleblowers’ share of the civil settlement has not been resolved.

Source: U.S Department of Justice