Abbvie Defeats Sales Managers’ False Claims Retaliation Suit

Seven former sales managers for pharmaceutical company Abbvie Inc. failed to adequately allege that the company violated the False Claims Act by firing them for calling attention to insufficient sales force training, a federal district court ruled Thursday.

Abbvie entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the government in 2012 to promote regulatory compliance. The agreement required Abbvie to provide special training regarding how salespeople discuss pricing with physicians.

The plaintiffs alleged they were fired for telling an Abbvie investigator that the company wasn’t providing proper training.

But the claim must be dismissed because the plaintiffs didn’t allege that Abbvie ...