A sales manager who "just couldn't abide" by the way Merck wanted him to market the drugs Vioxx and Zocor to doctors took the lonely step of filing a whistleblower suit against his employer.
Seven years later, Merck & Co. will pay $671 million to settle complaints it overcharged government health programs and gave doctors improper inducements to prescribe its drugs.
And whistleblower H. Dean Steinke, the Michigan sales manager whose lawsuit led to about $400 million of the recovery, gets a $68 million reward.
"He did it because he really, truly thought that Merck was doing the wrong thing and he just couldn't abide by it, even though he was putting his career on hold," said Steinke's lawyer, Steven Cohen of Chicago.
His small firm, which specializes in such cases, will receive an undisclosed share of the award.
Steinke, who through his lawyer declined an interview, had climbed the sales ladder at Merck for about 12 years and was a district sales manager when he filed the lawsuit. He made the move only after his internal complaints were ignored, Cohen said.
Steinke believed that Merck, as it introduced the much-anticipated painkiller Vioxx and tried to ward off competition for Zocor, an anti-cholesterol drug, had crossed the line when it came to inducements to physicians.The government investigated his sealed lawsuit, which also alleged that Merck overcharged government health plans, under the Federal False Claims Act.
Prosecutors ultimately alleged that Merck paid physicians, hospitals and others excess fees to run supposed educational programs, from lunches to speaking engagements to visiting professorships, in hopes they would favor their products.
Prosecutors also accused Merck of giving doctors and hospitals steep volume-based discounts on Vioxx, Zocor and Pepcid, in the hope that patients would come to rely on them. The company failed to offer Medicare and other government agencies the same price, as required by law, they said.
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Judging by the plaudits on CafePharma Dean is to be congratulated!
Congratulations Dean!
Dean was the best manager I have ever had the pleasure of working with in my 25 year sales career. He has outstanding business acumen and did his best to mold his reps for success.
Dean invited reps into his home for training sessions and always made himself available to discuss work or personal issues 7 days a week.
It was unfortunate that some higher management drove him out of the organization after his years of loyalty and due diligence in developing some outstanding reps who have moved up in the ranks.
What goes around - comes around!
Thanks Dean for your positive influence on my career and best wishes on your immediate retirement. Enjoy your lifelong financial security. Your stepping forward and speaking up should be a wake up call for the entire industry to deal ethically with customers and employees alike.
RC
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