Pharmaceutical giant Allergan is being accused of retaliating against an Oxnard employee who made allegations involving a doctor illegally charging patients for Botox samples received for free.
KellyAnn Henderson, who said she worked for Allergan for nearly six years, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court on June 18. She alleged retaliation by a manager at the company forced her into resigning her position in May and violated laws aimed at protecting workers who allege wrongdoing at their place of work.
Amy Rose, a spokeswoman for Allergan, said the company does not comment on pending legal cases.
Bruce Anticouni, Henderson’s Santa Barbara lawyer, said the lawsuit was filed after settlement talks with Allergan failed.
In the litigation, Henderson said her job involved providing free samples of the Allergan-manufactured cosmetic medications Botox and Juvederm to area doctors every two weeks. The practice is controversial, seen by some as a way to get medicine to low-income patients and by others as a way pharmaceutical companies influence prescribing habits.
Henderson claimed that one provider demanded more samples, according to the lawsuit. Anticouni declined to identify the provider, saying only that the physician practices in Southern California.
Henderson said she was told by an employee of the doctor that patients were being charged for the products. Over six months, the doctor charged patients for $100,000 worth of Botox, the lawsuit alleged.
Federal law prohibits the sale or trade of such free drug samples in regulations partly intended to suppress the supply of black-market drugs.
Injecting a patient with the drugs and then billing for the medication likely would constitute an illegal sale, said Fred Weissman, pharmaceutical law professor at USC.
“It depends on what he’s charging the patient for,” he said. “If he’s charging them for the drug, that’s illegal.”
Worried about being viewed as a party to a crime, Henderson told an Allergan manager she would no longer provide the doctor with samples, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges the supervisor retaliated by imposing a disciplinary action called a performance improvement plan. Anticouni said Allergan is responsible for the retaliation.
“Allergan’s manager engaged in unlawful activity, and that’s attributable to the corporation itself,” he said.
After a leave of absence triggered by stress from the discipline, Henderson filed a complaint with Allergan. She alleged the manager who disciplined her was also providing the same doctor with large quantities of Botox being sold to patients.
The complaint alleges the manager retaliated by imposing another performance improvement plan, increased Henderson’s workload and denied all of her requests for the pharmaceutical samples she needed to distribute to other doctors.
Stress and anxiety caused by the alleged retaliation played a role in forcing Henderson to resign in May, the lawsuit alleges. Anticouni claimed the manager was eventually terminated by Allergan but said he didn’t know the exact reason.
Questions about the alleged termination and other aspects of the litigation brought Rose’s response that Allergan does not comment on such cases.
Henderson is asking for damages including compensation for lost wages that Anticouni estimated at $50,000.
KellyAnn Henderson, who said she worked for Allergan for nearly six years, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court on June 18. She alleged retaliation by a manager at the company forced her into resigning her position in May and violated laws aimed at protecting workers who allege wrongdoing at their place of work.
Amy Rose, a spokeswoman for Allergan, said the company does not comment on pending legal cases.
Bruce Anticouni, Henderson’s Santa Barbara lawyer, said the lawsuit was filed after settlement talks with Allergan failed.
In the litigation, Henderson said her job involved providing free samples of the Allergan-manufactured cosmetic medications Botox and Juvederm to area doctors every two weeks. The practice is controversial, seen by some as a way to get medicine to low-income patients and by others as a way pharmaceutical companies influence prescribing habits.
Henderson claimed that one provider demanded more samples, according to the lawsuit. Anticouni declined to identify the provider, saying only that the physician practices in Southern California.
Henderson said she was told by an employee of the doctor that patients were being charged for the products. Over six months, the doctor charged patients for $100,000 worth of Botox, the lawsuit alleged.
Federal law prohibits the sale or trade of such free drug samples in regulations partly intended to suppress the supply of black-market drugs.
Injecting a patient with the drugs and then billing for the medication likely would constitute an illegal sale, said Fred Weissman, pharmaceutical law professor at USC.
“It depends on what he’s charging the patient for,” he said. “If he’s charging them for the drug, that’s illegal.”
Worried about being viewed as a party to a crime, Henderson told an Allergan manager she would no longer provide the doctor with samples, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges the supervisor retaliated by imposing a disciplinary action called a performance improvement plan. Anticouni said Allergan is responsible for the retaliation.
“Allergan’s manager engaged in unlawful activity, and that’s attributable to the corporation itself,” he said.
After a leave of absence triggered by stress from the discipline, Henderson filed a complaint with Allergan. She alleged the manager who disciplined her was also providing the same doctor with large quantities of Botox being sold to patients.
The complaint alleges the manager retaliated by imposing another performance improvement plan, increased Henderson’s workload and denied all of her requests for the pharmaceutical samples she needed to distribute to other doctors.
Stress and anxiety caused by the alleged retaliation played a role in forcing Henderson to resign in May, the lawsuit alleges. Anticouni claimed the manager was eventually terminated by Allergan but said he didn’t know the exact reason.
Questions about the alleged termination and other aspects of the litigation brought Rose’s response that Allergan does not comment on such cases.
Henderson is asking for damages including compensation for lost wages that Anticouni estimated at $50,000.