DOJ conducts criminal probe of Pfizer unit's drug marketing

Last week, it was announced that federal prosecutors in the western district of Oklahoma were investigating Pfizer for their marketing of the immunosuppressant drug, Rapamune. Pfizer inherited the drug when they purchased Wyeth last year. Both federal prosecutors and a Pfizer spokesperson declined to comment on the action. The probe was announced by Pfizer in a regulatory filing last Friday.
In the broad spectrum of crises that Pfizer could face this probe, and any future legal actions, are somewhat major. At the moment, the probe is barely a blip on the crisis scale. It is unknown the source of the probe, but it is unlikely it’s anything more than a few consumer complaints. The true crisis will hit as a result of the probes findings. If it is determined that Pfizer did nothing wrong and no legal action is taken, the probe will be forgotten by the public at large. However, if federal prosecutors decide that Pfizer violated laws in the marketing of the product it could result in a multi-million dollar law suit and a number of legal sanctions.
It will be months before any action is taken as a result of the probe, so in the meantime Pfizer needs to be preparing for this potential crisis. Any good communications department already has a crisis management team and plan in effect. They know exactly who needs to be contacted and which team members are going to play the most vital role (in this case legal counsel will probably be at the forefront). Pfizer needs to focus on establishing and monitoring an information-gathering system. Managers and effected staff need to be sharing information with each other. Everyone must be on the same page and have key messages identified in the case of the probe reaching a full-blown crisis. The most important element is making sure that the information being collected is accurate and relevant. This might mean doing in-depth research on the marketing of the drug compared with how other immunosuppressant drugs are being marketed or looking into laws relevant to the marketing of drugs.
Regardless, Pfizer’s managers and communications experts need to be preparing for this minor blip to become a full blown crisis.