Complete Case: Amgen Whistleblowing Essay

Read and write up an executive summary on the case, including answers to the following questions. 1. How did Amgens un good behavior yield to the problems with Medicaid kickbacks? 2. Why does the public consider this scandal to have an unethical dilemma? 3. Explain what is meant by whistleblowing?Include your opinions and identify each gaps between public expectations of ethical standards and universal professional codes of ethical standards. Case Amgen Whistleblowing CaseAmgen, a Thousand Oaks, Californiabased company, had the unenviable task of dealing with lawsuits filed by 15 states in 2009 alleging a Medicaid kickback scheme.1 To make matters worse, two additional whistleblowing lawsuits were filed against the company in Ventura County. The complaints, which dont appear link to the fraud alleged by the group of states, were brought by former employees who said they had uncovered wrongdoing at the biotech giant and were terminated afterwards they raised red flags to superior s. One employee alleged the company violated federal official law by under-reporting complaints and problems with the companys drugs after they hit the market. The facts of that lawsuit are described below.Former Amgen employee Shawn OBrien sued Amgen for wrongful termination on October 9, 2009, alleging he was laid off in October 2007 in retaliation for raising concerns about how the company reported complaints and problems with drugs already on the market. OBrien worked as a ripened project manager for Amgens Ongoing Change Program, according to the lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court. His job was to improve Amgens compliance do byes with high constitutive(a) risk to public safety, major criminal and civil liability, or both, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that in April 2007, Amgens board of directors flagged the companys process for dealing with post-market complaints about drugs as a potential problem.Federal law requires drug companies to track and report to the Food and Drug Administration any problems with their drugs after they hit the market. In June 2007, OBrien was put on the case. He soon uncovered facts that Amgen was not adequately and consistently identifying phone calls or mail related to post-marketing adverse events of product complaints. That year, OBrien warned the company about the seriousness of the issues but, he claims, the company would not take any action or offer any support. In August 2007, OBrien took his complaint to a senior executive/corporate officer (unnamed) and warned that Amgens process for dealing with post-market problems wasnt adequate.In archeozoic September of 2007, OBriens managers instructed him to stop all work and not discuss the issues any further with anyone. Approximately four weeks later he was assured that he was being terminated as part of Amgens October 12, 2007, reduction in the work force.