
A former Novartis (NVS) employee was awarded nearly $1.5 million in damages over claims that she was fired in retaliation for complaining that a proposed drug study appeared to be a kickback, although the jury agreed that she violated a company policy.
Min Amy Guo, who had been executive director of the Health Economics and Outcomes Research Group, objected to a study that would have examined unapproved, or off-label, uses of the Affinitor breast cancer treatment, according to the lawsuit she filed in a New Jersey state court in 2014.
So, what did she do that violated company policy?