Pfizer's Wyeth unit to pay $784.6M to settle False Claims Act violations

Pfizer said its Wyeth unit has agreed to pay a $784.6 million settlement for cases related to the calculation of Medicaid rebates for a gastric drug sold between 2001 and 2006, according to Reuters.

Claims against Wyeth allege its calculation of rebates for Protonix violated the False Claims Act and other laws before it was acquired by Pfizer. The pharmaceutical giant bought Wyeth in 2009 for $68 billion after it lost the patent on the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

An alliance of 15 U.S. states filed a complaint in federal court in Massachusetts in 2009, contending Wyeth failed to offer state Medicaid programs the same rebates it gave private hospitals.

The agreement to settle does not include an admission of liability by Wyeth, Pfizer said Tuesday.

Previously, Wyeth settled charges regarding the illegal marketing of its kidney drug Rapamune.

Pfizer reissued its results for the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year 2015 to reflect this charge. The company's earnings will not be affected by the settlement, according to the report.

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