Texas sues Pfizer alleging it defrauded Medicaid with ineffective drug

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer and one of its suppliers in a case unsealed Monday, alleging they defrauded Medicaid by manipulating quality control tests to hide deficiencies in a drug prescribed to children with attention deficit disorder.

The suit filed in Harrison County alleged that Pfizer and Tris Pharma doctored quality-control tests for the drug Quillivant XR between 2012 and 2018 to hide that the medicine failed to dissolve like promised, and Pfizer then persuaded Texas' Medicaid program to add Quillivant to its list of preferred drugs.

“At no point did Defendants warn Texas Medicaid providers or decision-makers that Quillivant had known manufacturing issues affecting its efficacy, thereby depriving the Medicaid program of the crucial information it relies on,” the suit said. 

“As a result, thousands of Texas children received an adulterated Schedule II Controlled Dangerous Substance,” it added.

You can read the suit here.

The lawsuit did not specify the damages the state is seeking.

Paxton said his office received numerous reports from parents claiming the drug was not effective on their children.

"I am horrified by the dishonesty we uncovered in this investigation," the attorney general said. “Pfizer and Tris intentionally concealed and failed to disclose the issues with Quillivant to receive taxpayer funded benefits through Texas Medicaid, defrauding the state and endangering children.”