Jan 18, 2023
On March 25, 2010, a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts found Pfizer Inc. guilty of violating both the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and California's Unfair Competition Law by advertising off-label uses of the epilepsy drug Neurontin. The jury awarded Kaiser $47.6 million for the RICO violations, which according to that law, are automatically tripled. The federal jury ordered Pfizer to pay the amount for damages its incorrect marketing inflicted on patients and for violating the law in its marketing of Neurontin. Complainants Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals accused the pharmaceutical company of promoting the medication for uses not cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including treatment for migraines, neuropathic pain and bipolar disorder. Judge Patti Saris presided over the Kaiser lawsuit, and ruled in 2009 that fraud findings against Pfizer in the