MCS Death - Coach - Snake Oil Investigation

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http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=60305

> >

> > Snake oil' subject of suit

> > By Strahinich/ Herald Exclusive

> > Friday, December 24, 2004

> >

> > Dan was diagnosed three years ago with a

> mysterious neurological

> > disorder that put him in a wheelchair, suffering

> from headaches,

> > nausea, dizziness and memory loss.

> >

> > Among other medications, the former Holy

> Cross football coach was

> > given Neurontin, an epilepsy treatment widely

> prescribed for

> > everything from pain relief to insomnia to

> depression.

> >

> > But 's widow, , 49, uses different

> words to describe

> > Neurontin:

> >

> > ``It was snake oil,'' she said yesterday in

> an exclusive

> > interview with the Herald.

> >

> > will appear as a named complainant in a

> proposed

> > class-action suit against Pfizer Inc., the

> manufacturer of Neurontin,

> > the Herald has learned.

> >

> > The suit is expected to be filed Monday in

> Suffolk Superior Court.

> >

> > Brought on behalf of nearly 1,000 people

> statewide, the suit

> > alleges that Pfizer broke the state's

> consumer-protection law.

> >

> > ``Pfizer basically sold a sugar pill, saying

> it was good

> > medicine,'' said Bonsignore, a local

> consumer activist and

> > lawyer who will file the suit.

> >

> > Pfizer spokesman Fitzhenry acknowledged

> that the company is

> > the target of a number of class-action complaints

> that mirror parts of

> > a successful whistleblower case brought by the

> federal government.

> >

> > Last May, Pfizer paid $240 million in

> criminal fines as part of a

> > $430 million settlement for illegally promoting

> so-called

> > ``off-label'' uses for Neurontin.

> >

> > ``These suits closely track those

> allegations,'' said Fitzhenry.

> > ``We do not believe efforts to certify (them) as

> class-action are

> > supported by the law. They hinge on the

> doctor-patient relationship.''

> >

> > The whistleblower case was set off by a

> onetime medical liaison

> > with Parke- Inc., which was later acquired by

> Pfizer.

> >

> > The company was found to have urged its

> medical liaisons, or

> > salespeople, to provide doctors with misleading

> and even wrong

> > information about Neurontin. The doctors, in turn,

> prescribed it for a

> > host of ailments the drug hadn't been approved to

> treat.

> >

> > By law, doctors can prescribe medicines for

> uses other than those

> > approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

> But drug companies

> > can't promote those uses.

> >

> > Dan died at age 48 last May from

> multiple chemical

> > sensitivity, which is thought to have been

> triggered by hazardous

> > substances used in refinishing a gymnasium floor

> at Holy Cross.

> >

> > , the mother of three, ages 11 to

> 19, sees the tragedy

> > that befell her husband as a series of wrongs she

> is now trying to put

> > right.

> >

> > She has sued the contractors who refurbished

> the Worcester

> > college's field house. Now is adding her

> name to the suit

> > against Pfizer.

> >

> > ``This is the beginning of a long string of

> things that need to

> > be investigated,'' she said.

>

>

>

>

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