Published: September 22, 2010

We have tirelessly heard our nation’s justice system say something to the extent of this: “If someone knowingly commits a crime against humanity, they must face the consequences.” Obviously this does not apply to everyone, especially million- and billion-dollar corporations. Pharmaceutical companies are committing crimes against the global human population and are continuously getting away with it, with little to no accountability or punishment for their actions. It is astonishing to me that common citizens get life terms for murder and attempted murder, but pharmaceutical companies that openly harm and kill massive numbers of people every day with their off-labeling techniques receive only fines. Mind you, their million- and billion-dollar fines are considered pocket change compared to their annual profits.

According to a recent New York Times article entitled “Maker of Botox Settles Inquiry,” Allergan, the maker of the well-known “miracle” wrinkle remover, Botox, has agreed to pay over $600 million in reparations for illegally marketing and selling Botox for unofficial uses, known as off-label marketing.

Allergan marketed Botox for common uses including headaches, migraines and pain. Think about how many students use headache and pain medication every day and don’t know the harm it may be causing them.

Allergan is accused of bribing doctors to watch videos promoting Botox for unofficial uses and treatments.  Prosecutors also charged them with teaching doctors how to get away with Medicare and Medicaid insurance fraud in order to make their prescriptions look like they were being used for valid treatments.  In an Allergan press release, the company stated that there was no “merit to … [these claims] factually or legally,” and that they did it in the best interests of their shareholders.  In essence, this means that making money for shareholders is more important than the health of those who take their medications.  They also go on to state that their “misbranding charge… does not involve false or deceptive conduct.” That sounds interesting—if misbranding isn’t deceptive, then what would you call it?

The resolution included a criminal fine totaling $375 million and a settlement with the federal government and the states of $225 million. This is the fifth largest settlement ever made by a pharmaceutical company for off-label marketing in the history of Georgia. Notice that these reparations only go to federal, state and city governments—not to the unknown number of adults, children and college-aged students like us who probably have long- and short-term side effects and injuries from the company’s misuse and lies. I guess the government sees this as a way of profiting on the ill-treatment of its citizens, as no one from Allergan’s company was held accountable, arrested or individually charged for their oversight in these detrimental and illegal activities, and no medical doctors had their licenses revoked or even suspended for participating and receiving special kickbacks.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something new. It has been happening and will continue to happen with other pharmaceutical companies unless the federal government starts to regulate strictly these companies’ actions and policies and to induce harsh punishments for their crimes. Pharmaceutical billionaire Elli Lilly settled a similar case of off-label marketing of the drug Zyprexa with a fine of $1.41 billion, which is nothing compared to their annual global revenue of $5.74 billion in their second quarter of 2010 alone. Pfizer and AstraZeneca have also been involved in similar federal investigations and agreed to pay fines of $23 billion and $520 million, respectively, for similar crimes. “The whole culture of Pfizer is driven by sales, and if you didn’t sell drugs illegally, you were not seen as a team player,” Mr. Kopchinski, a key whistle blower in the Pfizer scandal, said. So if this is the motto of one company, you can imagine that it would be similar for others as well.

What happens to the families of these victims who have been affected by these heartless atrocities and need constant medical attention because of them? Who will pay them? What message are we sending these pharmaceutical companies that abuse their power only to end up basking in a sea of endless profit?

We live in a nation where doctors are seen as honorable and all-knowing; we put our lives and our trust in their hands, expecting them not to betray us. But we don’t live in an ideal world; unfortunately we are living in a world where there are evil corporations, operated by malicious people with wicked intentions and we must wise up in order to not be taken for fools.  These companies make drugs for children, teenagers, adults and the elderly. We are the consumers that these drugs are marketed to, drugs which are used by students on a regular basis for simple ailments like migraines, headaches and upset stomachs all the way up to severe diseases like depression and bipolar disorder.

We, as students, are using medications that have been illegally marketed to us, medications that do not fix the problems they are supposed to be fixing but cause more harm to our bodies. I can’t tell the entire Fordham student body to boycott drugs or pharmaceutical companies—that would simply be unrealistic. However, I can ask you to get informed about the pills in your medicine cabinet and ask questions when you don’t understand what your doctor is saying. As college students, we are in charge of our health and our lives; don’t let big corporations and some malicious doctors use us for a profit at our own expense.