When you think of large organisations spawning the globe with a brand that has grown larger than life, you may be excused for thinking of them as powerful entities that have grown their size with a commitment to quality and customer service. Well, that’s supposed to be the case, at least in theory. As any one with a bit of worldly experience would vouch for, theory falls short of the ground realities and risks to society, associated with corporate behemoths, sometimes, far outweigh what is illustrated in text books.

Consider our favorite drug maker, Pfizer Inc. A multi-national with operations across continents, Pfizer just became bigger with its deal with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which made it the world leader in cardiovascular treatment and Primary Care. The combined entity would enjoy revenues of $70 billion.

Granted, companies just don’t get to “enjoy” revenue and wealth – they fight for it, they sweat it out. And they become powerful. That’s precisely why there is so much social responsibility expected of the big guys with muscle power. And that’s precisely why it is utterly disappointing to see these money machines display arrogance and total disregard to the very consumers whom they pledge to serve all out.

The latest instance is where Pfizer faces a law suit from a consumer who has used its cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor, which is famous and is widely prescribed around the world. The complaint alleges that Pfizer failed to bring to the notice of users that the cholesterol lowering drug also had side effects such as nervous problems, which in the case of the complainant, Michael Mazaariello, arose three years after he had stopped using the drug. He alleges that Pfizer did not caution users or the medical community of the possible side effects, projecting Lipitor as a safe drug.

This is not the first of such cases – very recently, Pfizer was forced to pay a hefty compensation of $2.3 billion when a whistle-blower blew it long and hard, fighting it out in the courts of law for four years for alleged malpractices within Pfizer, and for promoting its drug Bextra for unapproved uses and dosages. Pfizer had shelled out another $430 million in settling similar law suit in 2004 on felony charges, where it pleaded guilty of promoting its drug Neurontin for many uses unapproved by the FDA.

Settling huge amounts on law suits and carrying on with its business as usual may sound all to cool for a behemoth as big as Pfizer Inc. But it needs to realise that it is in the serious business of dealing with human health and that it operates in the society that it has come to affect adversely these days. And as Newton concluded, Pfizer may have to deal with the reactions for its actions, if it doesn’t do a brand make over and place its priorities right.