Feel good for free! With love from the big P

Pfizer made a surprising offer last week -- and seized on a great opportunity. In a truly generous and noteworthy effort, the company is giving away tons of drugs to U.S. residents who were laid off during 2009, and who were taking certain prescriptions for at least three months before their employment termination date. And these aren't just the cheapo options, but 70 different brands -- treating everything from diabetes to depression -- that include some of the firm's top-sellers like Celebrex, Lyrica, Lipitor and Viagra. (That one makes perfect sense -- losing a job can be hell on one's romantic life, we hear.) Those interested and qualified can call (866) 706-2400 to enroll; after July 1, candidates can sign up online at www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com. You can check the Pfizer press release here.

Certainly the company weighed the promotional benefits of the plan against the projected, and surely quite sizeable, cost (which wasn't made public). Pfizer, like other Big Pharma names, is always getting bad coverage, whether for its pricing practices or side effect complications, so it's nice to have the press applauding for a change. And then there's the loyalty factor: Why would any patient ever switch to similar/cheaper medications from Eli Lilly or Bristol Myers Squibb after being comped by Pfizer? Smart move...

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault Staff Writer