Drug maker settles with states

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer agreed on Monday to pay $6 million to settle an investigation by Nevada and 18 other states into how it had advertised Zithromax, an antibiotic, to treat ear infections in children, state officials said.

The attorney general of Oregon, Hardy Myers, who led the investigation, had accused Pfizer of misrepresenting the effectiveness of Zithromax in its ad campaigns and of failing to disclose the risks of overusing antibiotics.

Under the agreement, Pfizer will pay the 19 states $4 million for costs of the investigation and legal fees. The company will also finance a $2 million public service campaign in the next three years to tell parents that antibiotics cannot be used to treat an ear infection that is caused by a virus.

Pfizer admitted no wrongdoing.

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