Texas secures a $41.5 million settlement from Pfizer and Tris Pharma over claims of adulterated ADHD medication and Medicaid fraud
NEW YORK: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced a $41.5 million settlement with drugmakers Pfizer and Tris Pharma.
The agreement resolves a 2023 lawsuit alleging the companies manipulated quality control tests for the ADHD medication Quillivant XR.
Paxton accused the firms of providing adulterated drugs to children and falsifying test results to secure Medicaid reimbursements from 2012 to 2018.
“Pfizer and Tris Pharma provided adulterated drugs to children for years and changed test results in order to obtain the benefit of taxpayer-funded Medicaid reimbursement,” Paxton stated.
He added that under his watch, “Big Pharma will not escape justice for lying about the effectiveness of its drugs.”
Both companies denied any liability or wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Pfizer, based in New York, said it “did not find any impact on the safety of the product for patients.”
The company affirmed its deep commitment to patient safety and takes product quality allegations seriously.
New Jersey-based Tris Pharma also stated it “did not find any impact on the safety of the product for patients.”
It fully stands by the quality of Quillivant XR and its positive benefits for patients.
Pfizer acquired Quillivant XR’s original developer, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, in 2012.
Tris Pharma manufactured the drug for Pfizer until 2018, when it purchased the product line.
Pfizer confirmed it “divested and stopped marketing in 2018.”
The lawsuit was initiated following a whistleblower complaint from Tarik Ahmed, Tris Pharma’s former technology chief from 2013 to 2017. – AFP