Do Legal Woes Equal Commercial Success?

By Neal 

peter-rost.jpgNearly two weeks ago, Pfizer convinced a U.S. District Court judge in Boston to grant the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Peter Rost, whose aptly titled The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman was recently published by Soft Skull Press. In the suit against his former employer, Rost alleged that the pharmaceutical company, in the words of the Bloomberg News report, “llegally promoted Genotropin for so-called off-label uses and had revenue of $50 million in 2002 from such sales.” Yesterday, Rost informed the media via press release that Pfizer wants relief and sanctions in the other legal battle he instigated with the company, this one over alleged wrongful termination. Not that he’s hurting, exactly: According to Soft Skull, the entire first printing sold out in a single day last week, prompting a joyous outburst on Rost’s blog: “THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU PFIZER… This would not have happened without your Court room antics!”