False Claims: One Insider’s Impossible Battle Against Big Pharma Corruption [9780063371101]

Overview

In Big Pharma, lives are secondary to profit margins. But in this gripping whistleblower memoir, Lisa Pratta stood her ground—risking everything to expose the lies of a billion-dollar pharmaceutical business mired in deception, greed, and the systemic abuse of both patients and employees.

As a rising star in pharmaceutical sales, Lisa Pratta wanted to believe that she was helping improve the lives of people who suffered from illness. But as she climbed the corporate ladder, she uncovered a sinister world of corporate corruption, bribery, fraud, and sexual harassment—all papered over with a thin veneer of corporate respectability.

At Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Lisa found herself at a small company with a blockbuster drug that could have been a lifeline for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis—that is, if it was prescribed properly. But instead, Questcor chose profits over patients, training its sales force to push untested treatment regimens with the sole purpose of beating its competition. Lisa recognized this dangerous medical fraud as not only dangerous but highly illegal. In the midst of this controversy, Questcor arbitrarily inflated the drug’s price to a jaw-dropping $28,000 per vial. Torn between her morals and the financial stability the job provided for her special-needs son, Lisa made a decision that would change her life forever: she reported the fraudulent practices of the company to the federal government.

For nearly a decade, she led a double life—feeding insider information to the Department of Justice for a landmark whistleblower lawsuit while enduring the relentless demands of her company to sell their drug using illegal marketing tactics. She faced constant fear of exposure, knowing that the government offered her no protection if her secrets were revealed. Nonetheless, Lisa pressed on, determined to hold Questcor accountable for the laws they were breaking and the lives they were endangering.

This incredible true story offers a sobering look at the unscrupulous sales methods used by America’s corrupt pharmaceutical industry, spotlights the levers they pull to extract ludicrous profits from the sick and dying, and is a page-turning portrait of one woman’s heroic fight against Big Pharma and a mother’s struggle to protect her family.

How does a single mother and pharmaceutical insider take on a billion-dollar giant and expose its crimes to the federal government?

• A Whistleblower’s Double Life: For nearly a decade, Lisa Pratta fed information to the Department of Justice, living in constant fear of exposure while fighting to protect her special-needs son, Marco.
• Big Pharma’s Playbook: Discover the shocking tactics—from bribing doctors to pushing untested treatments and inflating a drug’s price to an astounding $28,000 a vial—used to put profits over patients.
• A Landmark Lawsuit: Get an inside look at the high-stakes legal battle where one woman’s courage led to a historic case against Questcor Pharmaceuticals under the False Claims Act.
• A Mother’s Fierce Protection: At the heart of the story is a parent’s unwavering fight for the financial stability needed to care for her son, forcing an impossible choice between her conscience and her family.