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Pharmaceutical Whistleblower

In recent years many pharmaceutical employees have come forward to report fraudulent billing, illegal marketing techniques and undisclosed drug side effects. These courageous people known as whistle blowers have helped the federal government recover millions of dollars that were obtained illegally by the pharmaceutical companies. More importantly whistle blowers have helped save the lives of thousands of prescription drug users that were previously unaware of their medication's side effects.

Recently, a former Pfizer Microbiologist David Franklin blew the whistle on Pfizer's Warner-Lambert unit over promoting the epilepsy drug Neurontin for off-label uses. Franklin’s testimony led to the Government's recovery of over $400 million dollars from Pfizer. Franklin's reward will be about $26 million.

Franklin sued the company in 1996 under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act is a US law that encourages employees to report illegal activities at their companies. The law was passed in 1863 to crack down on war-profiteering during the Civil War. It allows individuals to bring lawsuits on behalf of the federal Government and receive part of any settlement or judgment.

Last year, the Justice Department recovered $2.1 billion under the False Claims Act, up from $1.1 billion the previous year. Franklin's award is far from the largest. In 2001 Douglas Durand, a former vice-president of sales at TAP Pharmaceuticals, received $77 million for blowing the whistle on his employer.

If you are a current or former pharmaceutical company employee and have information on any illegal activities, please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified attorney.