Pfizer Inc. and its lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis have defeated a whistleblower suit over the drug giant’s marketing of Flector, a patch used to treat acute pain.
In a ruling issued on Friday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander in Baltimore dismissed claims by a sales representative that Pfizer violated the False Claims Act by promoting Felctor for off-label uses and by paying kickbacks to doctors. Hollander ruled that despite being given a chance to amend the complaint, plaintiffs counsel at Milberg failed to show that the U.S. government was defrauded by Pfizer’s alleged conduct—a prerequisite in a FCA case.
