Psychiatrist Bullied Into Prescribing A Medication

If you haven't heard, Pfizer was recently hit with a $2.3 billion fine for ignoring warnings by the FDA. In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Pfizer Inc. that its ads touting the antibiotic Zyvox as superior to similar drugs could endanger public health. Even so, they continued to tell doctors that Zyvox worked better than cheaper generic competitors. The problem was there was no scientific evidence to support such use. That damn evidence thing always gets in the way of a good profit. The government seemed to bundle the case with a few other drugs like the painkiller Bextra, the epilepsy and nerve pain drug Lyrica, and the antipsychotic Geodon. Anyway, I am not so bothered by the fine as it won't even dent Pfizer's wallet, I am more bothered by the whistle blower and their lawyers. Yes, I am glad that Pfizer got stung but the fact that the government is using hired guns (attorneys) to help them and that just doesn't sit right with me. Now more and more lawyers are becoming bounty hunters for the government. Here is the kind of crap you get when you these guys are involved:

Harrisburg psychiatrist Stefan Kruszewski will get $29 million of that total for his testimony. He said Pfizer sales representatives pushed him to prescribe Geodon for such symptoms as anxiety and agitation and for use in children.

Hey, Stefan, what kind of doctor gets "pushed" into prescribing a medication by a drug rep? You must have lost your lunch money many times back in elementary school (heck, maybe even medical school), huh? The worst part is that Dr. Kruszewski gets rewarded with $29 million for jumping on the bandwagon with Geodon and NOT protecting his patients. I wish someone could do a little investigation to see how much Steffie got from the pharmaceutical industry over the years (consult fees, speaking fees, etc). My advice now for King Stefan to nut up and grow a pair and donate the majority of that money to a charity of choice. Or me.