- Peter Rost (doctor)
Peter Rost, M.D. is a former vice president at the
pharmaceutical company Pfizer and most well known for testifying in theUnited States Congress against the business methods of thepharmaceutical industry . He is also an author of the insider books, "The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman" and "Killer Drug". Dr. Rost provides services as a drug industry expert witness, [ [http://litigationconsultant.blogspot.com/ Drug Industry Expert Witness ] ] speaker [ [http://publicspeaker1.blogspot.com/ Public Speaker ] ] and writer [ [http://peterrost.blogspot.com/ The Peter Rost Blog ] ] .Background
Peter Rost, M.D., is the
author of "The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman" [http://the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com/ THE WHISTLEBLOWER Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman ] ] . "The Whistleblower" is at once an unmasking of how corporations take care of malcontents and a grippingstory of one man's fight to maintain his family and his sanity. Starting in 2003, thebook details the illegal, even criminal business practices the author witnessed at hiscorporation , as well as hiscrusade to legalize the reimportation ofdrugs .Dr. Rost first became well known in 2004 when he became the first
drug company executive to speak out in favor of reimportation of drugs.His fight for lower priced drugs was covered by radio and television broadcasts, among them "
60 Minutes ", and many newspaper articles, including "The New York Times ", "The Wall Street Journal ", "The Washington Post " and "Los Angeles Times ".Dr. Rost is the author of a medical text book, "Emergency Surgery", and has written numerous op-eds for "The New York Times", "Los Angeles Times" and dozens of other major newspapers. He testified before the
U.S. Senate , as well as many state congresses and conducted numerous press conferences withU.S. Senators , Members of U.S. Congress, and State Governors.Dr. Rost was terminated [ [http://www.counterpunch.org/rost12052005.html Dr. Peter Rost: Pfizer May Have Violated Federal Laws When They Fired Me ] ] from his employment as Vice President for Pfizer in December 2005. After it became known that Rost’s allegations had resulted in an ongoing
criminal investigation of Pfizer’s marketing practices by the U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Rost was nominated "Whiny Whistleblower of the Year 2005," by a drug company front organization; TheAmerican Council on Science and Health . [ [http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.680/news_detail.asp ACSH > Facts & Fears > Archives ] ] Rost competed for this title with two other consumer heroes; Dr.David Graham , FDA, and Dr.Eric Topol , theCleveland Clinic . TheAmerican Council on Science and Health has accepted funding from Pfizer, Rost's prior employer.Prior to his work for
Pfizer , Dr. Rost was a Managing Director forWyeth , responsible for the Nordic region inEurope . During this assignment he had four countries reporting to him and he doubled sales in the region in two years and moved the sales ranking of the Swedish affiliate from #19 to #7 by lowering drug prices. Later, working forPharmacia , he tried to stop illegal promotion of thegrowth hormone Genotropin for off-label uses when the Pfizer acquisition occurred. [Edwards, J. " [http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/spotlight/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199768 Bad Medicine.] " BrandWeek. March 20, 2006.]Influential website
The Huffington Post banned Peter Rost fromblogging on this site in June 2006, after he discovered an anonymousheckler on his blog was actually the Post's technology manager. In his Huffington Postblog , Peter Rost exposed the identity of theheckler - known as a "troll " in blogging parlance - which prompted the Post to block his access. [ [http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1803833,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704 Huffington Post blogger blocked | Media | MediaGuardian ] ] The Huffington Post later changed itspolicy and disallowed employees to respond to blogs. The Post also removed "recommended replies," which Dr. Rost had shown could be abused. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/technology/26huff.html?ex=1152590400&en=d866e0dee616d13b&ei=5070 A Blogger Is Bounced From the Huffington Post - New York Times ] ]In September 2006, Dr. Rost's book, "The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman" [http://the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman ] ] was published. The New York Post wrote, "A drug company executive is about to blow the lid off the pharmaceutical industry . . . revealing everything from sex in the
corner office to private investigators spying on employees, company phone surveillance, FBI investigations and financial shenanigans resulting in million-dollar payouts." And the Library Journal wrote, "Here is a chilling tale from a former Pfizer exec about his decision to expose corporate activities, including takeovers and layoffs, physician payoffs, marketing to juvenile patients, and tax dodging. This blow-by-blow account amply supports his statement that the current U.S. healthcare system is “certainly the best system for the drug companies."On April 2, 2007, the
Department of Justice announced that "PHARMACIA & UPJOHN COMPANY, INC., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc., was charged today in federal court with offering a kickback in connection with its outsourcing contract for the administration and distribution of its human growth hormone product, Genotropin. The company has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and pay a criminal fine. Additionally, another Pfizer subsidiary, PHARMACIA & UPJOHN COMPANY LLC, has entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Government for its illegal promotion of Genotropin for such “off-label” uses as anti-aging, cosmetic use and athletic performance enhancement. As a result of the criminal plea and Deferred Prosecution Agreement, the companies will pay a total of $34.7 million." [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ma/Press%20Office%20-%20Press%20Release%20Files/Apr2007/Pharmacia-Information-Settlement.html]
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