This week’s podcast is about one of the world’s top selling drugs, Neurontin (generic name Gabapentin).  And it centres on an extraordinary court case which for the very first time accused a drug company, Pfizer and its subsidiary Warner Lambert, of racketeering, under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, a piece of legislation that was actually brought in tackle organized crime.

The company had been accused of  encouraging doctors to use Neurotonin not just for its approved use, but for several unapproved uses, something that is known as off-label marketing and is illegal in the US. It had attempted to market the drug for bipolar disorder, neuropathic pain and migraine. Despite the fact that in the judge’s words there was “little or no scientifically accepted evidence that Neurontin is effective for the treatment of bipolar disorder,  neuropathic pain or migraine”.

Detailed detective work by the plaintiff’s expert witnesses revealed how data was distorted and  inconvenient evidence buried to suggest the drug was effective. And the shocking discoveries in this decade old trial continue to be highly relevant for patients and doctors today.

Telling this story is Dr John Abramson, who  was one of the expert witnesses in the trial, who spent nearly two years forensically examining thousand of documents to uncover the truth. John is based at Harvard Medical School, where he teaches health care policy. John has written several books about the pharmaceutical industry and consults as an expert in litigation involving the industry.

The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at @lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at liztucker.substack.com

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