Wyeth Fires Prevnar Whistleblower

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http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/050704_NW_prevnar.html
WTVD Raleigh Durham
May 7, 2004

Pharmaceutical Plant Employee Fired After Raising Alarm Over Vaccine Production
Eyewitness News Investigates
By Steve Daniels

Prevnar prevents a potentially fatal illness in children called pneumococcal meningitis, the most common bacterial infection. Prevnar is a multi-billion dollar product for Wyeth in Sanford. But a local man who used to work there claims profits were more important to his bosses than proper training on the production line.

Elizabeth is just 14 months old. She's at Triangle Pediatrics in Cary getting her latest round of shots and she's not happy about it.

The federal government says every baby in America should get a vaccine called Prevnar. It's made at the Wyeth Pharmaceutical plant in Sanford.

Mark Livingston used to work at the Sanford plant. He was a manager who was supposed to make sure all the workers had the proper training. "If there are major deviations or problems or issues, the FDA can come in and ask for me and handcuff me and take me out," Livingston said.

Eyewitness News asked Livingston what he could say about the quality control of the vaccine leaving the Sanford plant. "Quality control is suspect," he said.

That's why he says he came forward with allegations claiming Wyeth was cutting corners when it came to worker training inside the Prevnar plant, which he claims violated federal regulations. "The potential for contaminated product, a mislabeled, or an outright failure of part of the vaccine, or the total vaccine goes up dramatically," Livingston said.

In a federal whistleblower lawsuit, Livingston says he was fired in 2002 for raising questions about worker training on the Prevnar production line. The problems he says he saw could have meant big trouble for Wyeth, because in 2000 it paid a $30 million fine for violating FDA regulations at another plant.

"Mark Livingston is a hero, whistle blowers are heroes," said Joanne Royce, an attorney with the Government Accountability Project. Royce is also Mark Livingston's lawyer. "Mr. Livingston cared more about the babies than he did about his own job," she said. "He knew he was going to be fired. But he had the courage to come forward and tell the truth."

Wyeth wouldn't talk on camera, but the company says the lawsuit has no merit and the company will defend itself vigorously. Wyeth also says all the employees have the requisite training, background and experience. Wyeth says Livingston's a disgruntled former employee. "That's what employers always say about whistle blowers," said attorney Joanne Royce. "But the evidence will show when we take it to trial, there was one reason Mark Livingston was fired, and that's because he blew the whistle on corporate corruption and gross non-compliance in the manufacture of Prevnar."

Livingston feels he had become, in Wyeth's view, a troublemaker who had to go. "Probably from Wyeth's point of view yes, I was too aggressive, too assertive challenging the status quo too much."

But Mark Livingston says he did it for the babies. "Babies have no voice and so we're giving them four shots of this chemical soup within the first year of their life. They're looking at us. They're trusting us completely."

Wyeth says there are no safety problems with Prevnar connected to production at the Sanford plant. Mark Livingston says he'd like to get his job back at Wyeth. He hopes a judge agrees with his claim and orders Wyeth to re-hire him.

Online producer: Shaun Chavis Benchi

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