Peter Rost (doctor)

Peter Rost, M.D. is a former drug marketing executive and is most known for taking public stances critical of the pharmaceutical industry as an "insider" and whistleblower. He sued his last two pharmaceutical employers, Wyeth and Pfizer, the latter of which fired him in 2005. At Wyeth, he uncovered tax evasion practices, and after informing senior company executives, was transferred from Sweden to a post in New Jersey. Rost sued the company, saying that the transfer was a retaliatory demotion, though the company said it was a promotion. Rost settled with Wyeth for an undisclosed amount in 2003. At Pfizer, Rost filed a qui tam suit disclosing off-label marketing of Genotropin at Pharmacia prior to its purchase by Pfizer. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to join in Rost's suit as the marketing violations had already been disclosed to the Department by Pfizer. Rost was eventually fired by Pfizer, and sued for wrongful dismissal, but this lawsuit was summarily dismissed by the court based on evidence that Pfizer had decided to fire Rost prior to discovery of his whistleblowing activities. Since then, Rost has worked outside the pharmaceutical industry, as a public speaker, blogger, writer, and litigation consultant.

Rost worked at medical advertising agencies prior to working for pharmaceutical companies.

Rost started working at Wyeth in approximately 1992; seven years after joining Wyeth, he was promoted to head of Wyeth-Lederle Nordiska, Wyeth's Scandinavian subsidiary. Rost has said that he doubled sales during his tenure. He became concerned about Wyeth's accounting practices and informed upper management of his concerns. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred from Sweden to New Jersey, a move he characterized as a retaliatory demotion. He filed a lawsuit against Wyeth, which was settled out of court for undisclosed terms.

Rost left Wyeth for Pharmacia in June 2001 and took a role leading its endocrinology division, and said that he soon began to be concerned from a business perspective about sales of Genotropin, Pfizer's human growth hormone drug, which had plateaued; Pharmacia's decision to pour money into off-label marketing to adults was not paying off, due to the low doses that adults took. In the next year, Rost became aware that the strategy was not only unwise, but was probably illegal, and began raising objections internally to try to get the company to change course. In July 2002 merger discussions with Pfizer were announced, and Rost and other executives briefed the Pfizer acquisition team on the issues with Genotropin as the merger talks progressed. However, when news broke in January 2013 of Rost's lawsuits against Wyeth (see below), things turned sour; Rost reported getting an email from his future Pfizer boss saying "There will not be a fit with the marketing organization" for him. The merger with Pfizer was completed in April 2003. Rost was offered a severance package, as other Pharmacia executives were, but Pfizer and Rost failed to come to agreement, and Pfizer did not fire him, as they were aware of the suit he filed against them related to Genotropin marketing (see below). His staff of 60 was slowly reassigned and by the end of summer 2003, he was left with his administrative assistant, who was reassigned in the summer of 2004, and his office was moved to an out of the way location.

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Wikipedia