Pfizer sued for misleading Lipitor advertising

By Hubert Vigilla

Published on September 29, 2005

Advocacy groups Health Care for All and Community Catalyst claim that Pfizer is marketing Lipitor to patient populations without clinical trials to substantiate its claims. The class action suit specifically targets claims that Lipitor can prevent heart disease in women and patients older than 65.

The case against Pfizer cited a recent study in which 2,000 women were issued either Lipitor or a placebo. The study found that the subjects who took Lipitor developed 10 percent more heart attacks than those in the placebo group. Pfizer, however, states that their marketing claims and FDA approval for expanded use were based on two clinical trials that involved more than 13,000 subjects.

The class-action suit seeks to reimburse women, patients over 65 years-old, and third parties who unnecessarily purchased Lipitor to prevent heart disease.

Comment on this article →