Pfizer paid about $55 million to resolve allegations that Wyeth, which it bought in 2009, used CME and other tactics to promote ulcer drug Protonix for off-label use in 2000 and 2001, the Justice Department said.

The complaint said Wyeth provided ostensibly unrestricted grants to CME providers, but the Protonix brand team “influenced virtually every aspect of these CME programs.”

Wyeth, the government alleged, even insisted that the CME program materials use the same color and appearance as Protonix promotional materials—“a tactic that Wyeth and the vendor called ‘branducation.’”

Pfizer denies the allegations.