A whistleblower who was fired by Eli Lilly three years ago has filed suit against the pharma giant, alleging that her dismissal came in response to her reporting manufacturing problems at the company’s massive plant in Branchburg, New Jersey.
Amrit Mula, the top human resources officer at the plant for eight years, seeks unspecified damages for Lilly’s alleged “unlawful retaliation” and violation of New Jersey’s employee protection law. She filed her lawsuit in New Jersey federal court on Monday.
Mula told Reuters that she “made every effort to resolve this controversy and avoid litigation entirely, but unfortunately we were unable to do so.” The Branchburg plant has been in the headlines for nearly two years thanks to manufacturing shortfalls there. The DOJ has even subpoenaed the drugmaker for documents related to the site.
Mula's complaint surrounds her unsuccessful attempts to force Lilly address problems associated with the manufacture of blockbuster diabetes drug Trulicity, which generated sales of $6.5 billion last year.
The former HR officer says she witnessed and reported Lilly employees failing to comply with FDA-mandated standard operating procedures, failing to report contaminations, improperly disposing caustic substances into waterways and falsifying quality assurance testing documents.
As she conducted her investigation, Mula was repeatedly told to stop, she alleges. After pressuring site leadership to remedy the manufacturing violations, Lilly “executives...
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