Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer and Tris Pharma for supplying Medicaid-eligible children’s ADHD medication that was ineffective. The lawsuit claims Pfizer and Tris altered Quillivant XR quality-control tests despite knowing about the concerns…
In a complaint released Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Pfizer and Tris Pharma of selling children’s ADHD medication that may not work to Medicaid, the state’s low-income insurance program.
The Harrison County, Texas District Court lawsuit alleges that Pfizer and Tris altered Quillivant XR quality-control testing to pass federal tests between 2012 and 2018. The lawsuit claimed that properly done testing often showed that the medicine did not disintegrate as predicted, indicating that it would not be released in the body.
Despite knowing about quality-control difficulties, Pfizer convinced Texas’ Medicaid program to add Quillivant to its preferred medications list, according to the lawsuit.
Paxton claimed many Texas families reported Quillivant failed.
“I am horrified by the dishonesty we uncovered in this investigation,” Republican Paxton said. Companies are accused of cheating the state’s Medicaid program and sued for unspecified damages.
An inquiry to Pfizer and Tris, which made the medicine for Pfizer, was not immediately returned.
Tarik Ahmed, Tris’ chief of IT from 2013 to 2017, filed the whistleblower case.
Quillivant was developed by Nextwave Pharmaceuticals, which Pfizer bought in 2012. Like other ADHD medicines, it has had shortages and never had a big national market share.
Tris was alerted of manufacturing issues by the FDA in 2017.
Pfizer stated in its 2022 annual report that it had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York about its relationship with Tris and Quillivant’s 2018 output, but had not heard back.
Conclusion
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pfizer and Tris Pharma for selling children’s ADHD medication that may not work for Medicaid. The lawsuit says that Pfizer and Tris altered Quillivant XR quality-control testing to pass federal tests between 2012 and 2018. Despite quality-control concerns, Pfizer convinced Texas’ Medicaid program to add Quillivant to its preferred medicine list, according to the lawsuit. Paxton claimed many Texas families reported Quillivant failed. Companies are accused of cheating the state’s Medicaid program and sued for unspecified damages. Tarik Ahmed, Tris’ chief of IT from 2013 to 2017, filed the whistleblower case. Quillivant was developed by Nextwave Pharmaceuticals, which Pfizer bought in 2012.
