Pfizer Inc. agreed to pay $430 million and plead guilty to criminal charges for illegally marketing an epilepsy drug for unapproved uses such as migraines and pain, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

The company's Warner-Lambert division promoted the drug, Neurontin, for uses it had no scientific evidence to support, and even in cases where the drug was shown to be ineffective, prosecutors said.

For example, the company promoted Neurontin for treating bipolar disease, even though a study showed a placebo worked as well or better than the drug for manic depression.

"Warner-Lambert's promotional efforts were a highly organized and deliberate attempt to circumvent federal restrictions on marketing," Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum told a news conference in Washington.

The $240 million criminal portion of Pfizer's payment is the second largest criminal fine for a health-care fraud case, McCallum said. TAP Pharmaceuticals, a venture of Abbott Laboratories Inc. and Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. agreed in 2001 to pay $290 million over charges it illegally marketed a prostate cancer drug.

via Reuters: Pfizer to pay $430 mln for false drug marketing