Pfizer Australia was fined $200,000, the largest one-off fine Medicines Australia have given a company, after its representatives in NSW and Queensland were found guilty of telling doctors a cholesterol-lowering drug produced by rival AstraZeneca could cause kidney damage.
The company was found guilty of a range of breaches of the code including making false and misleading claims and the most serious breach of bringing "discredit to and reduction of confidence in the industry" writes the Age.
But is that really the news?
Shouldn't the news be that THE STUPID PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA DON'T REALIZE THAT A "RECORD FINE" OF $200,000 IS A FRIGGING JOKE??!!
Seriously?
If this is the biggest fine you ever handed out to a $50 billion corporation which just doubled its profit in the first quarter, do you reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaallly think you're making a difference?
A statement by Pfizer Australia yesterday said an investigation had established that while representatives "may have made some statements of the kind alleged by AstraZeneca … no senior manager at Pfizer Australia was aware that the conduct was taking place".
