Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay Oregon more than $3.3 million to settle claims that the company used misleading statements and studies to market an antibiotic. The settlement announced Tuesday by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger comes after a two-year state investigation of Pfizer’s marketing of Zyvox, which is used to treat pneumonia and bacterial skin infections. Pfizer used “unreliable and unsubstantiated claims” in marketing Zyvox as a better choice than a cheaper, generic antibiotic, the state said. Pfizer’s sales representatives distributed copies of flawed clinical studies throughout Oregon to support the marketing claims, according to the state Justice Department.
