Pfizer Inc. — Ethics Grade C-

Pfizer Inc. receives an overall ethics grade of C- (42/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Healthcare. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 70
• privacy: 80
• consumer: 30
• environment: 65
• humanRights: 35

Documented incidents (3)

• Largest Healthcare Fraud Settlement (high, 2009) — Pfizer was hit with a record $2.3 billion fine for illegally marketing Bextra and other drugs for uses the FDA had not approved, including paying kickbacks to doctors.
• Unethical Drug Trials in Nigeria (high, 2011) — Pfizer settled a long-running case involving a 1996 meningitis drug trial in Nigeria, where children were given the experimental drug Trovan without proper informed consent.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Critics (medium, 2022) — Global health advocates criticized Pfizer for resisting patent waivers for its COVID-19 vaccine, prioritizing profits over global access in low-income countries during the pandemic.

Documented good deeds

• Accord for a Healthier World — Pfizer expanded its commitment to provide all its current and future patented medicines on a not-for-profit basis to 45 lower-income countries.

Ethical alternatives

• Gilead Sciences — Better scores in transparency regarding pricing and clinical data access.