Pfizer pleads guilty to marketing drug illegally.

While doctors can prescribe drugs for any use, the promotion of drugs for these so-called "off-label uses" is prohibited. The FDA's guidance in this area is relatively clear, although the agency has been somewhat constrained by a federal district court (Washington Legal Foundation v. Friedman (requires WestLaw subscription)). So it was a big deal when Pfizer admitted in a Boston case yesterday that it had engaged in just such illegal marketing, including paying doctors to put their names on ghostwritten articles about the anti-seizure drug Neurontin. The Boston Globe's article is here.