AstraZeneca Whistleblower Awarded $2.4 Million
In a closely watched whistleblower suit, a federal court jury in the US state of Oregon has awarded $2.4 million to a former sales manager for AstraZeneca, who claimed the drugmaker fired her after she raised concerns of off-label marketing.
If the judge does not change the size of the award, Suzanne Ivie is due to receive $1.87 million in damages and an additional $510,423 for wages forfeited when she lost her job in 2019 after 19 years with the company.
The accusations didn’t have any additional consequences for AstraZenenca. While the jury found that the drugmaker violated whistleblower statutes by firing the then-51-year-old manager after she made a "good faith" report of alleged marketing misconduct, it rejected the allegations of age discrimination, as her superior was only four years younger. It also did not hold the company liable for marketing violation under the False Claims Act
Ivie, who worked in AZ's respiratory division, said a new director who took charge in 2018 pushed the team to promote certain drugs for applications that were not approved by the FDA, but when she refused and complained to management, she was removed from her leadership position, her bonus slashed and subsequently terminated.
In contrast, attorneys for AstraZeneca said the employee was fired for failing to do the work expected of her as a district sales manager. They maintained also that Ivie's claims of potential off-label marketing were "unsubstantiated."
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
