Settlement amount: $2.3 billion
Year of settlement: 2009
Drugs involved: The atypical antipsychotic Geodon (ziprasidone); the painkillers Bextra (valdecoxib) and Lyrica (pregabalin); and others
Criminal charges filed? Yes
Pfizer engaged in the typical antipsychotic shenanigans — marketing Geodon to doctors for uses for which it was not approved — even though the company was already operating under a corporate integrity agreement. The 2009 settlement, which also included the illegal marketing of Bextra and Lyica, as well as giving kickbacks to doctors and other prescribers for using Pfizer drugs, was the company’s fourth multimillion-dollar settlement in less than a decade.