Comments on: A Pfizer Whistleblower Tops Business Ethics List

By: somaie

somaie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:48:40 +0000

This post was very helpful for me to look at the big picture. I often get lost in the small details and forget about the long-term plan. Thanks for the info!

http://www.onlineunivesalwork.com

By: Ex-rep

Ex-rep — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:29:54 +0000

Oops- not 15 ‘companies’, but ‘15 states are after justice from Amgen now’.

By: Ex-rep

Ex-rep — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:15:01 +0000

I worked 12 years for 2 extremely ethical big pharma companies; to promote off-label, etc was to get fired before the day ended, which I personally witnessed.

Then I joined Amgen; started out fine but dove ethically once Sharer came in 1992.

I tried to do the right thing (despite the movie, ‘Silkwood’, scaring me to death). I sent solid proof of several illegal doings to the FDA; TAF; NY Times; and DOJ-New York (and resent them a few years ago). I didn’t send enough info I guess, because none of the above contacted me except a ‘thanks’ from the NYTimes the 2nd mailing.

I sent written proof of Amgen instructions to dialysis customers for:

- committing Medicare fraud(bill for free overfill); including various non-FDA approved Amgen-Home Office-issued “Financial Impact Analyses” (FIA’s) on overfill profits);
-off-label promotional aids including written instructions and non-FDA approved computer spreadsheets (raising hematocrit above 36, to even 39-”you’ll get paid, just document you are decreasing the dose”), and again FIA’s for bringing everyone’s hematocrit to at least 36, if not higher, (medically necessary or not).

The final straw that made me send the info was the National Sales Meeting (’93, maybe ‘94) where upper management freely discussed preliminary clinical findings on a Quality of Life study (one of several bogus ‘trials’ used as sales tools/financial incentives rather than valid clinical trials in our sales territories) for the higher hematocrits.
-Not only was no QoL benefit shown, but a trend toward cardiovascular risks was noted. We were told to abandon any QoL promotional activity, and just do the FIA’s instead. That was the day I knew Amgen had no soul anymore.

I’d always quietly refused to do unethical and/or illegal things with my accounts, and my manager hadn’t forced me to in the past. My sales were great-I won awards-with appropriate Epogen use…but never good enough for Amgen.

SOMETHING happened, not long after my mailings. My life was made miserable by my district manager despite excellent sales and previously excellent-TOP SCORE, 200 out of 200 possible points awarded-evaluations. For all objective ratings on the evaluation, I dropped 2 levels…people asked me at first what was wrong, why my DM wasn’t happy with me, and offered their support-and then not long after that, I was treated like I had the plague by all but my closest co-workers…

So, PLEASE DO SOMETHING fellow WB’s, but I would like to second extreme caution, gathering as much info as you can, and sending it to the CORRECT contact(s)- a trusted lawyer perhaps???

I won’t see a penny for my attempted WB or the wrongful termination, but at least I know I tried to do the right thing long ago.

Money is one thing, but human lives are truly priceless. Not sure how Amgen execs sleep at night.

Imagine how happy the headlines latelymake me-not just one lowly rep, but 15 companies are after justice from Amgen now!

By: Codes R not us.

Codes R not us. — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:55:07 +0000

Many doctors work in Bigpharma and are part of the system, that is nothing but Organized Corporite Crime and that makes Bigpharma,more like Bigpharmafia. Former Pharma Doc, could not take it for too long and got pushed out as it usually happens when and once you make waves. In real mafia we know the only way out is….well you are REALLY finished. At least these bigpharma wiseguys, let you leave in one piece, but would not let you in again into any of the other OCC corps. So the best time to whistle blow is when you don’t need them ever again. You are either finished with work (retire) or your WBing would make you rich enough to never need them again.Many have commented on BP sins but few on medical professionals’ that are also part of the problem. Doctors, especially specialists of reputation that BP needs and likes in pushing their drugs, contribute in numerous ways to advance the goals of BP that include illegal, unethical and immoral activity. For that they are paid very well in many ways, from cash to trips to who knows what. But paid they get and they like it. It was not always like that. In the last 20-25 years especially the BG has been busy enrolling docs into their organization by relentlessly offering $$$$$ for being part of their schemes. How long could they resist? Some did but many went along. From that point of view, the biggest crime of the Bigpharmafia is the corruption of our most important part of health care, our doctors.Can they be stopped?

By: Former Pharma MD

Former Pharma MD — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:49:41 +0000

I used to work in Big Pharma, but then decided that the corruption was too much to bear. As a physician first, I couldn’t turn my back on off-label promotion and safety cover-ups that can harm patients. If we have integrity, we must speak up, but then beware. As encouraged by my former company, I did the right thing and objected to corrupt marketing tactics. Problem was that top executives were aware and had approved of the activities simply to make their numbers. I was then trashed and terminated. In addition, I believe that these executives have black-balled me and I haven’t been able to locate an equivalent position. In the meantime, the criminals laughed all the way to the bank and haven’t been held accountable for their actions. It’s the same old story in Big Pharma - if you are honest, have integrity, and do the right thing, they don’t want you. You’re a threat to their big game!!

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:49:17 +0000

Hmmm. I wonder if there are any whistle blowers among journalists and the like? I think one would find them to be as bad as, if not worse than any other institution. At least pharma saves lives and makes people better, while journalists simply look to sell newspapers and get more eyeballs on the ads they carry - at the expense of anybody in their way. It’s a shame what journalism has become: see what’s happening to Time, Newsweek, and others. They say it’s the varied media that has caused their demise. Maybe everyone can now subconciously see through their real interests.

By: Codes R not us.

Codes R not us. — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:46:44 +0000

Kindler maybe talking with the proverbial fork tongue, or maybe not. In any case he knows what is the right thing to say at this time on that subject. Does he mean it? Will they do the right thing in the future? Hard to say but he sees that the critical mass is building on the side of the people and maybe it is time to do something about it. However, they have always done things like that when it comes to resolving and covering up of the misconduct. Are they going to really change or go further underground and invent misconduct that is much harder to detect and report? I have seen this over and over again. In the mentioned Novartis Canada affiliate, a major WBing did happen (internally) and it exposed major misconduct dealing with anything from offlabel promo, to bribery to fraud against their public health care and more. It is known that WBer got thrown out very soon after the event. Only one of the management was also gone(maybe fired most likely on their own). Others involved in invention, planning, approval and implementation of miscoduct, not only stayed but many were PROMOTED. Since them the company has become so careful that any and every action that is not 110% kosher, must be only dealt verbally. No evidence what-so-ever, ever. Did they clean up their act as you and I would expect? No. They “cleand” it up to suit them so they can continue with their dark activity, unhindered. So the cover up and moving further underground took place. What they should have done, if they were to think same as Kindler (if he means it): fire all the crooks, clean up the operation and keep the WBer as a proof that what they say in their codes of conduct, they mean it.
So we are no further ahead, for now.Nothing changed.Here is an old saying, “It is not what you say but what you do” (that will prove if you are honest or a crook).We can wait, do nothing and see nothing changed. Or continue with demands that authority everywhere do something that would hurt them. Jail time of good lenght for those who do it could be a good start.

By: Doc

Doc — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:14:44 +0000

Whistleblowers are critical to exposing underhanded marketing and sales schemes that actually do patient harm.

Unfortunately the companies look at these fines as simply a business cost. They typically make multiples in profit from these schemes compared to any fines they pay.

Because of the structure of the system, the Federal Govt will never do the ultimate and bar them from federal programs for several years, it would put the company out of business.

What they CAN do is take the internal emails, memos etc, uncovered in their investigations and start jailing and personally fining the marketing and sales execs that push these schemes.

If a director or vp or two, did jail time or had to pay a million of more in personal fines - you WILL see behavior change.

By: FDAer

FDAer — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:56:11 +0000

Things will come out in time. Kopchinski et al’s stories did not come out publicly for years.

By: Justice in MI

Justice in MI — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:41:02 +0000

Interesting discussion. Here are some excerpts from the speech CEO Kindler recently gave in Boston, and which Ed reported on here (including a link to a video with the whole talk):

“Across society people believe that the rules meant to bring order to society instead are being manipulated to benefit the rule-makers. It has become so widespread that having questionable ethics is often seen as the norm. In fact, doing the right thing now seems quaint and old-fashioned when so many people seem to get away with doing the wrong thing.

People have had enough, and the backlash is real. Its fueling demands for more restrictions on businesses and on governments…

Now sometimes this criticism is warranted; sometimes it’s not. But when the majority of people don’t trust you, they will find a way to force you to change. So this is where we are. And it’s up to us to earn back the trust that we’ve lost…..

So what are we doing about this at Pfizer? Well, we’ve begun to change. We know we need to be straight with people. No one has any tolerance any more for corporate spin….”

For the most part, Kindler put pharma’s problems in the context of societal corruption more generally (using Madoff, Gov. Blogo., et. al. as examples) and emphasized the impact of lost trust on responses (like price controls) that would destroy innovation, etc.. He also did take note of the $2.3 B bust, but did not note that the “unapproved uses” promoted had been specifically rejected by FDA in significant part because of safety considerations.

So what do we make of this? I would genuinely be interested in the perspective of folks from within industry.