Pfizer, the CIA and a Slow News Day

V for Victory and Viagra

On what has to be one of the slowest news days of the year, especially for business, today’s “Washington Post” has a great watercooler item. It’s not anything material or stock-moving for Pfizer (PFE), the world’s biggest drug company, but it will get people (think late-night comics) talking once again about the little blue pill.

Reporter Joby Warrick put together a piece about how CIA agents are occasionally using PFE’s impotence-fighter Viagra to “make friends and influence people” in the renewed fight against the Taliban. The anecdotes in the article are pretty interesting and entertaining.

A Pfizer spokeswoman told me the company has no comment on the Washington Post (WPO) story except to say that PFE was “certainly not” aware this was going on until the Post dug it up.

Bob Windrem, a senior investigative producer at NBC News, chased down the story with the CIA. He reports that agency officials have no comment. But a senior intelligence official says, “If it was done, it was done in a handful of cases.”

The official adds that no one’s gonna get in trouble for it. He tells Windrem the agency encourages officers “to think outside the box” and that whatever works within the U.S. law is fair game.

Pfizer has talked a lot lately about expanding into emerging markets and how important that is to the company’s growth. I’m certain this is not what they’ve been referring to.

Comments

[oliverstone...:]

senior intelligence official says, “If it was done, it was done in a handful of cases.”

Uhh, if the CIA is going to provide viagra (which seems like a great idea), maybe they should send them some women too.

2008 Dec 27 10:41 AM

[Brad Castro:]

LOL, oliver - they probably did that, too.

2008 Dec 27 10:46 AM