APNewsBreak: SC Attorney general strikes $12.7M deal with Pfizer over disputed sales tactics

APNewsBreak: SC reaches $12.7M deal with Pfizer

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities say South Carolina will receive $11 million under an agreement with Pfizer Inc. over disputed sales tactics involving drugs including the painkiller Bextra and the schizophrenia medicine Geodon.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster’s office said Friday the New York-based pharmaceutical giant will also provide South Carolina with more than $1.5 million in medication for its free clinics.

Pfizer confirmed the agreement was reached Thursday.

Federal prosecutors in September hit Pfizer with $2.3 billion in fines for what they called improper drug promotions that plied doctors with free golf, massages and resort junkets.

South Carolina opted out of an earlier agreement splitting $331 million among 49 states and the District of Columbia.