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Pfizer Fined $430 Million The Pfizer drug company agrees to pay a $430 million fine and plead guilty to illegal marketing practices, U.S. prosecutors say. The unprecedented fine comes after the company admitted that its Warner-Lambert unit promoted Neurontin, an epilepsy drug, for several unapproved uses. The drug remains a top seller for Pfizer, with 2003 sales of $2.7 billion. NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports.

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Pfizer to Pay $430 Million Fine over Illegal Marketing

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Pfizer Fined $430 Million

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Pfizer pleads guilty and agrees to a pay an unprecedented $430 million fine for the promotion of the drug Neurontin for uses not approved by the FDA. Corbis hide caption

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Pfizer is fined $430 million for illegal marketing practices surrounding the drug Neurontin. The unprecedented fine comes after the company admitted that the epilepsy drug was promoted for several unapproved uses, including migraines, chronic pain and bipolar disease.

States had complained that the company's marketing practices inflated the costs of the Medicaid program for the poor. NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports.