Abbott Labs sales reps get reward for blowing the whistle

One of the largest settlements in recent years of a case against a drug manufacturer will net four former sales reps for Abbott Laboratories a share of an $84 million whistleblower reward. The four helped the government in a case involving the illegal promotion of the drug Depakote for unapproved uses. It’s OK for doctors to prescribe drugs for uses other than those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but nor for drug manufacturers to do so. One of the uses for which Abbott Labs promoted Depakote was for sedating nursing home patients, according to The Washington Post. Depakote is approved only to treat epileptic seizures, migraines, and manic episodes among patients with bipolar disorder. The case, prompted by the former Abbott Labs sales reps, took four years to investigate and ended with the company agreeing to pay fines totaling $1.6 billion. Learn more about getting help with whistleblower lawsuits.