False Claims by Lisa Pratta
In Big Pharma, lives are secondary to profit margins. But in this gripping whistleblower memoir, Lisa Pratta stood her ground—risking everything to expose the lies of a billion-dollar pharmaceutical business mired in deception, greed, and the systemic abuse of both patients and employees. As a rising star in pharmaceutical sales, Lisa Pratta wanted to believe that she was helping improve the lives of people who suffered from illness. But as she climbed the corporate ladder, she uncovered a sinister world of corporate corruption, bribery, fraud, and sexual harassment—all papered over with a thin veneer of corporate respectability. At Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Lisa found herself at a small company with a blockbuster drug that could have been a lifeline for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis—that is, if it was prescribed properly. But instead, Questcor chose profits over patients, training its sales force to push untested treatment regimens with the sole purpose of beating its competition. Lisa recognized this dangerous medical fraud as not only dangerous but highly illegal. In the midst of this controversy, Questcor arbitrarily inflated the drug’s price to a jaw-dropping $28,000 per vial. Torn between her morals and the financial stability the job provided for her special-needs son, Lisa made a decision that would change her life forever: she reported the fraudulent practices of the company to the federal government. For nearly a decade, she led a double life—feeding insider information to the Department of Justice for a landmark whistleblower lawsuit while enduring the relentless demands of her company to sell their drug using illegal marketing tactics. She faced constant fear of exposure, knowing that the government offered her no protection if her secrets were revealed. Nonetheless, Lisa pressed on, determined to hold Questcor accountable for the laws they were breaking and the lives they were endangering. This incredible true story offers a sobering look at the unscrupulous sales methods used by America’s corrupt pharmaceutical industry, spotlights the levers they pull to extract ludicrous profits from the sick and dying, and is a page-turning portrait of one woman’s heroic fight against Big Pharma and a mother’s struggle to protect her family. How does a single mother and pharmaceutical insider take on a billion-dollar giant and expose its crimes to the federal government? A Whistleblower’s Double Life: For nearly a decade, Lisa Pratta fed information to the Department of Justice, living in constant fear of exposure while fighting to protect her special-needs son, Marco. Big Pharma’s Playbook: Discover the shocking tactics—from bribing doctors to pushing untested treatments and inflating a drug’s price to an astounding $28,000 a vial—used to put profits over patients. A Landmark Lawsuit: Get an inside look at the high-stakes legal battle where one woman’s courage led to a historic case against Questcor Pharmaceuticals under the False Claims Act. A Mother’s Fierce Protection: At the heart of the story is a parent’s unwavering fight for the financial stability needed to care for her son, forcing an impossible choice between her conscience and her family.
"Lisa Pratta’s remarkable account of Big Pharma greed is a testament to her courage as a corporate insider turned whistleblowerFalse Claims is a page-turning exposè set against the background of Pratta’s steadfast refusal to capitulate to a drug company’s strong-arm pressure. It is a must-read for anyone interested in knowing how America’s drug industry puts profits ahead of patients." — Gerald Posner, author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America “If you’ve ever wondered why health care is so expensive in the United States, False Claims is a must read. It is an insider’s tale of one drug company’s disregard for scientific, legal, and moral values in its relentless pursuit of profit; a harrowing story of personal transformation into an activist willing to risk her financial and career security to expose the wrongdoing of her employers; and a deep exploration of her own formative experiences that sensitized her to the pain of injustice and left her more willing to go public with this information. I recommend it highly.” — John Abramson, MD, MSc, author of Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It "A pacey, shocking, and moving account of greed in the pharmaceutical industry. Lisa seamlessly weaves her courageous personal story with the eye-opening excess and deceit of Questcor to deftly show the personal toll of whistleblowing and the cost of staying silent. I devoured False Claims in two sittings." — Cara McGoogan, author of Blood Farm: The Explosive Big Pharma Scandal That Altered the AIDS Crisis "[A] sterling whistleblower procedural. . . . a vice-tight thriller." — The Ankler "This is both an illuminating up-close look at how corruption works and a moving account of one person discovering her strength." — Publishers Weekly “[Pratta’s] story and internal conflict are laid out in full, from her idealism about health care at the beginning of her career through her disillusionment and fight to reveal the dangerous, money-driven rot in the system. . . . The realities of America’s profit-driven health care system laid bare by an insider." — Kirkus Reviews
Lisa Pratta was a top-selling pharmaceutical and biotech sales representative for thirty-two years, helping to pave the way for women in the field, only to see the entire industry corrode with sexual harassment and fraud. Lisa was an honors graduate of Albright University before launching her career at pharma giants such as Astra Zeneca, Serono, and Questcor/Mallinckrodt. In 2012, while still employed at Questcor, Lisa became a whistleblower reporting off-label prescriptions and Medicare fraud to the United States government and went undercover for nearly a decade. She is a single mother with a special needs son.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780063371101 |
| ISBN 10 | 0063371103 |
| Title | False Claims |
| Author | Lisa Pratta |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers Inc |
| Year published | 2025-07-17 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |