AP, Businessweek: Amgen sued over patient records campaign
Article link.TRENTON, N.J.
Two former sales representatives for Amgen Inc. are suing the biotech company, alleging it pushed its sales force to search doctor’s confidential medical records for potential patients to boost sales of a drug used to treat psoriasis.
The two former representatives, who are seeking lost pay, punitive damages and other compensation totaling more than $15 million apiece, allege they objected to superiors and refused to go along with the scheme, which legal experts say violates federal patient privacy law…
Amgen is a large biotechnology firm based in Thousand Oaks, CA, and is the largest independent firm in the world. According to Business week, Amgen is one of the most “future-oriented” corporations in the S&P 500. This impetus for scientific progress is clearly seen in this article, where it comes into conflict with patient’s rights. This conflict is central to your second topic, where the problem takes on a new level of international research. Its easy to see where to go to resolve the Amgen controversy (American legal system, NIH, etc…). What if this was an international controversy? Who would you go to?
-Bryan