Pfizer has agreed to pay around $400m charge for an agreement in principle to resolve a securities class action pending against the company over off-label promotion actions.
The decision was disclosed as the company released its fourth-quarter results.
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The agreement is subject to New York federal court approval and has been revealed ahead of a jury trial set for 10 February, reported Reuters.
Pfizer spokeswoman Christine Regan Lindenbloom was quoted by Reuters as saying: "This resolution reflects a desire by the company to avoid the distraction of continued litigation and focus on the needs of patients and physicians."
In 2010, a lawsuit was filed against the company and various executives for giving false statements to shareholders regarding its off-label marketing of products such as Bextra.
In addition, the US drugmaker was charged for making misleading statements about different government investigations of those practices, which resulted in a $2.3bn settlement with the US Justice Department in 2009.
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By GlobalDataA Pfizer spokeswoman said that the firm continues to deny wrongdoing and that the disclosures to investors ‘were appropriate and prepared in good faith’.
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd lawyer for the investors Michael Dowd declined to comment on the trial.
Image: Pfizer world headquarters: Photo: courtesy of Jim.henderson.
