“Dr. Drew” Pinskey Paid $275,000 to promote Wellbutin for GlaxoSmithKline

A major part of the case made by U.S. prosecutors that led to GlaxoSmithKline’s $3 billion settlement is that the company used a network of paid experts, speaking to doctors and to the press, to promote uses of its drugs that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the Department of Justice’s complaint, one of those paid experts was celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky, who was the host of Loveline with MTV and is now hosting Celebrity Rehab on CNN’s Headline News. He was paid $275,000 in just under two months. Part of the exhibit complaint by the Justice Department was an invoice from Cooney Waters a PR firm from GlaxoSmithKline to Pinskey for services as a spokesperson for particularly Wellbutin. Pinskey claims he used Wellbutin in his practice as it didn’t reduce sex drive like other antidepressants. The US justice department has cracked down on kickbacks given by pharmaceutical firms to doctors who promote their drugs. Many pharmaceutical representatives are providing incentives to push these kickbacks to psychiatrists and medical doctors. The biggest pushers of Paxil and Wellbutrin were provided with travel awards “spa treatment” to exotic locations like the Bahamas and Hawaii as part of a training and reward sited by the US Justice Department complaint. Many of these psychiatrists and doctors are living the good life, and Dr. Drew gets $275,000 in two months while your child is suffering side effects of Paxil and Wellbutrin which include suicide. Do you feel that is right? If you don’t then if your child or loved one is suffering from these psychotropic drugs then you can seek the advice and council of a lawyer. There are a number of class action lawsuits today against Bigpharma regarding the life threatening and life changing side effects.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc has Agreed to Criminal Charges and Will pay $3 Billion in Fines

So Do you Trust BigPharma? We don’t

GSK Building-flckr Several News sources have indicated a Health Care Fraud Settlement. The settlement includes $1 billion in criminal fines and $2 billion in civil fines in connection with the sale of the drug company's Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia products. Paxil and Wellbutrin are both antidepressants. As part of the settlement, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed to strict oversight of its sales force by the U.S. government to prevent the use of kickbacks or other prohibited practices. GSK was found to be promoting their drugs for off label purposes, or essentially selling their drugs to patients that their product was not approved for. GSK also sold to underage children. They target marketed to children under 18 when their product was approved for adults only. This is actually done by pharmaceutical sale representatives promoting to family physicians. Also these sale representatives were providing kickbacks to these same physicians and hospitals. ABC News-The Justice Department says GlaxoSmithKline will pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to report important safety data about a diabetes drug to the Food and Drug Administration. Government officials say it's the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history. Prosecutors say GSK encouraged use of Paxil for children. The company also promoted Wellbutrin for uses besides major depressive disorder, its only approved use. They say that between 2001 and 2007 GSK failed to report on two studies of the cardiovascular safety of Avandia, a diabetes drug. Abbot Labs was fined $1 billion a few month ago also for off label marketing by their Sales Representatives and Marketing department. .