Getting full approval from the FDA for its COVID-19 vaccine is a big deal for Pfizer. The FDA-stamp of approval is a critical step in getting a drug to the market. If a pharmaceutical company starts promoting a drug for something that the FDA hasn’t okayed, it can get in big trouble.

In 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion in a criminal and civil liability lawsuit stemming from the illegal promotion of certain drugs. At the time, it was the largest healthcare fraud settlement in history.