Brigham Young University claims Pfizer violated a research agreement made with predecessor companies.
Pfizer Inc. has settled charges with BYU that it violated a research agreement regarding its painkiller Celebrex. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed in an announcement today by the drug company and the Mormon Church-owned school in Utah.
However, Pfizer said in a regulatory filing today that it was taking a $450 million charge against first-quarter earnings to settle the case.
BYU's lawsuit says a chemistry professor, Daniel Simmons, discovered the genetic workings of the drug in the early 1990s.
It accused Pfizer of violating a research agreement the school made with predecessor companies.
As part of the settlement, BYU plans to endow a Dan Simmons Chair in recognition of his lifelong work advancing human health.