BYU, Professor Say Pfizer Misappropriated Profits, Credit for Celebrex

SALT LAKE CITY - Brigham Young University and one of its professors have accused Pfizer Inc. and its predecessors of defrauding the school of more than $1 billion in profits as well as credit for research that led to the development of the COX-2 inhibitor drug Celebrex. Brigham Young University, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., et al., No. 06-890 (D. Utah).

BYU and Dr. Daniel L. Simmons, professor of biochemistry and chemistry, filed the 69-page lawsuit Oct. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The plaintiffs seek unspecified actual and punitive damages, but the complaint estimates …