Pfizer execs to stand trial for cover-up of drug trial results

By Ethan A. Huff

(NaturalNews) Four former executives at Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drug company. — Henry McKinnell, John LaMattina, Karen Katen, Joseph Feczko — as well as Gail Cawkwell, Pfizer’s current Vice President of Medical Affairs, will all face trial for allegedly concealing the unfavorable results of drug trials involving Celebrex and Bextra.Courthouse News Service (CNS) reports that U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain has denied requests made by defendants to dismiss the case, which means all five individuals will be held to account for their actions.

The securities class-action lawsuit, which was filed by the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) on behalf of Pfizer stockholders, alleges that the five defendants violated federal securities laws by concealing the results of studies involving Celebrex, a COX-2 inhibiting anti-inflammatory drug, and Bextra, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that was pulled from the market in 2005.

According to the suit, the five defendants made misleading statements in their public filings about the drug trials, and also omitted important information that exposed both Celebrex and Bextra as being dangerous.

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