Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman

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The pharmaceutical companies together comprise the 2nd -- 4th largest and mostsuccessful crime family or syndicate on the planet. SBelow is a partial list of pharmaceutical corporate wrongdoing described inPeter Rost's book:In 2001: "TAP-Astra Zeneca Pay Over a Billion Dollar inFines"--re: criminal marketing of Lupron.In 2002: Pfizer paid $49 million to settle state and federalMedicaid fraudcharges involving Lipitor.In 2002: Schering-Plough signed a FDA consent decree and paid a$500 millionfine--the biggest in FDA history.In 2004; Schering-Plough paid $345 million to resolve criminaland civilliabilities for illegal marketing of Calritin.In 2004 Pfizer admitted criminal marketing of Neurontin, agreeingto pay$420 million.In 2003: Bayer pled guilty to violating the federal PrescriptionDrugMarketing Act, paying $257 million including a criminal fine foritsmarketing of Cipro.In 2004, Merck withdrew its lethal painkiller, Vioxx. Estimatesare that itwould cost the company $50 billion.In 2004: The IRS served Merck with a "preliminary notice ofdeficiency"that could lead to $2.04 billion.In 2003: GlaxoSmithKline shareholders questioned GSK CEO,Jean-PierreGarnier, about his pay package to which he responded: "I am notMotherTeresa."GlaxoSmithKline also ran afoul of the IRS--it is facing a demandfor $7.8billion in backdated taxes and interest.In 2003, GSK signed a corporate integrity agreement and paid $88million ina civil fine for overcharging Medicaid for the antidepressant,Paxil andnasal-allergy spray, Flonase.In 2004; New York State Attorney General slapped GSK withfraudulentmarketing of Paxil--the company settled and posted its previouslyconcealedpediatric clinical trial data.In 2005 the Justice Department announced that GSK had paid "over$150million to resolve allegations of violations to the False ClaimsAct throughfraudulent drug pricing and marketing."In 2004 Bristol-Myers Squibb was ordered by the Securities andExchangeCommission to pay $150 million to settle charges of inflating itsrevenue by$1.5 billion in 2000 and 2001.A separate criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney General'sOffice inNJ resulted in the indictment of two executives for securitiesfraud--thecompany agreed to pay $300 million to shareholders.In 2000: Wyeth signed an FDA Consent Decree and paid $30 million.In 1997, Wyeth, after pulling Pondimin and Redux off the marketbecause of heart valve damage, the company was forced to set aside $21.1billion to settle "fen-phen" liability cases.In 2005: Serono Laboratories (Switzerland) agreed to pay $704million to resolve criminal and civil charges in connection with themarketing of Serostim, an AIDS drug. The company also pled guilty tomarketingconspiracy.In 2005: Eli Lilly pled guilty and paid $36 million for itsillegalmarketing of Evista for off-label uses.For the other corrupt practices by this industry, the harmsuffered by humanbeings, tune in to tonight Public Broadcasting System (PBS).The first report in a new series-- AIR: America's InvestigativeReports-- "ABitter Pill," airs Friday, Sept. 8.ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountabilityhttp://www.ahrp.orgFYIThe Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman by Dr. Peter Rost,published by Soft Skull Press has just been released.This is a blow by blow description of Dr. Rost's experience as aninsider--indeed a high-level pharmaceutical executive turned whistleblower.Dr. Rost first blew the whistle on Wyeth's global tax evasion scheme in whichWyeth made payments to its foreign employees to escape taxes. He thenblew the whistle on Pharmacia's illegal, off-label, marketing of Genotropin, ahuman growth hormone. When Pharmacia was swallowed up by Pfizer, hissituationdramatically worsened--except for his savvy inroads with the media andpoliticians. Dr. Rost focused mainly on the lie promoted by Big Pharmaabout theinvented danger of reimportation of prescription drugs.Although most of the book describes one man's struggle against corporate hardball tactics and intimidation--despite laws protecting whistleblowers--hischapter, How Corrupt Is the Drug Industry? provides the milieu in which thisindustry operates. Giant pharmaceutical corporations that once were held in highesteem, have earned criminal wrap sheets--much like mobsters, not life-savers:"Every prescription medicine you take is tested on humans before it'sapproved for sale and use by the Food and Drug Administration.But if you assumed those tests are always done smartly, safely and ethicallyunder thewatchful eye of expert regulators, you would be very, very wrong. (many "fosterkids" and prisoners involved)Perhaps even dead wrong."Check your local PBS station for date and time. The half hour report isriveting!Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav212-595-8974veracare