paper on lipitor

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Bianca Osagie (participated)
Brittny Longnecker (participated)
Kristina Lucero (participated)
Maria Perez (participated)
Ashati Cartha (did not participate)
Michelle Cherry (did not participate)

Pfizer is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and is now facing a lawsuit for one of its top selling drugs Lipitor. Lipitor is a prescription drug designed to treat patients with LDL-Cholesterol levels of 160mg/dl or higher (as approved by the FDA). When Pfizer saw that there was little to no competition for Lipitor, they decided to go the extra mile in gaining additional sales through the use of off label marketing. Off-label marketing is defined as the use of drugs for an unapproved condition or at an unapproved dosage. While it is not illegal Pfizers use of this method forces us to question their ethical values.
Over the years the United States has seen a rise in patients who suffer from health issues related to high cholesterol, so it is only natural that people would jump at the chance to take a hassle free pill to lower their cholesterol; however, some of these people did not need to be written a prescription for Lipitor. Doctors could have told them that diet and exercise would be enough to reduce the risk of a heart attack. Coercing people into paying for a prescription that they do not need is unethical. The doctors and the company should be held accountable because they did not have the consumers best interest in mind. It is understandable for companies to keep profit in mind, but pharmaceutical companies have a moral obligation to patients, who are the final consumers of their products and they should thus encourage doctors to be selective when writing the prescriptions for their drugs.
One can conclude that the corporate value of Pfizer is very self interested, as the company makes it clear that they seek to make as much money as possible, even if it means selling prescriptions to people who may not need the drug. Seeing as corporate values tend to directly influence the ethical decisions employees make, it is no surprise that Pfizer’s workplace decisions are consequently summed up as dishonest and unethical. Pfizers and their employees show no remorse for blatantly misrepresenting their products image to consumers, and it is sad to say that some employees may still not understand the wrong that has been done because they have been repeatedly shown that profits is what matters at the end of the day. The marketing strategy for Lipitor is called one big "fraudulent scheme" to go beyond the FDA approved prescription
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