Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay the state $3.34 million to settle claims that the pharmaceutical giant used misleading statements and studies to market an antibiotic.

The settlement, announced Monday by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, comes after a two-year state investigation of Pfizer’s marketing of Zyvox, which is used to treat pneumonia and bacterial skin infections, according to the state justice department.

Pfizer, the state says, used “unreliable and unsubstantiated claims” in marketing Zyvox as a superior choice over a cheaper, generic antibiotic. Pfizer’s sales representatives distributed copies of flawed clinical studies throughout Oregon in order to support the marketing claims, the justice department said in a release.

The settlement, which is the largest consumer drug settlement that the state has independently negotiated, was filed in Marion County Circuit Court.

Pfizer denied the allegations in a press release. “Pfizer is pleased to resolve this investigation and avoid the further time and cost of litigation. Pfizer is committed to conducting its business with the highest degree of ethics and integrity and providing patients, physicians and the public with accurate, science-based information regarding our medicines,” said Bradley Lerman, senior vice president and associate general counsel for Pfizer.

The Oregon settlement builds on a 2009 multi-state settlement that involved Zyvox and other drugs. However, the Oregon probe went further and found evidence indicating additional misconduct.

“Our investigation was aggressive, detailed, went places that the federal settlement didn’t and provided additional settlement to the state of Oregon,” said David Hart, a state senior assistant attorney general who spearheaded the probe.

The money will reimburse the State Accident Insurance Fund and the Department of Corrections for previous Zyvox purchases. It will also go to fund a new program for consumer education and “antimicrobial stewardship” to teach consumers about proper use of antibiotics. Some of the proceeds will also go into a fund for the state’s consumer protection activities.