The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Federal Trade Commission’

Pfizer’s Latest Twist on ‘Pay for Delay’

Pharmaceutical companies have sought for years to protect their expensive brand-name drugs by paying generic rivals handsome sums of money to put off efforts to introduce cheaper, generic alternatives that could steal market share. But now it appears the drug company Pfizer is adding yet another twist to its efforts to delay generic competitors. As The New York Times reports, the company seems to have struck a deal with certain pharmacy benefit managers – the middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry – to block generic versions of Lipitor.

Marketing to Children: Accepting Responsibility

Product marketing campaigns that target children – such as McDonald’s Happy Meals – are once again coming under fire. Columnist Gael O’Brien thinks they raise important questions about corporate behavior and who bears responsibility for unhealthy outcomes.

The Ethics of Social Media – Part II: Playing by New Rules

You say your company hasn’t had an OMG moment over Facebook ethics? Well, it could be just a matter of time. In the second part of a two-part series, James Hyatt examines how the social media explosion – from email and Facebook to blogs and Twitter – is making a hash of once-resolved issues and creating all kinds of new dilemmas.

Bogus ‘Obama Mom’ Grants Lure Students

Consumer advocates say they are alarmed by parallels between the subprime mortgage industry and for-profit schools, which also have come under fire for targeting low-income groups and signing up students for loans that can leave them buried in debt. Some schools earn nearly 90 percent of their revenue from federal student aid programs. Single moms, the critics say, are especially vulnerable.

Bank of America to Pay $108 Million to Settle Countrywide Case

The Federal Trade Commission said that when homeowners fell behind on payments and were in default on loans, Countrywide ordered property inspections, lawn mowing, and other services meant to protect the lender’s interest in the property. But rather than hire third-party vendors to perform the services, Countrywide created subsidiaries to hire the vendors, often marking up prices charged by 100 percent or more.