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'Concerning' that pharma giant Roche penalised whistleblower, WRC finds

Summary

Roche was ordered to pay €8,000 to a whistleblower who had made a protected disclosure to the HPRA about non‑compliant marketing literature. The Workplace Relations Commission found the penalisation of the whistleblower concerning because Roche is a major private sector organisation with significant public safety impact. The whistleblower, Dr Bruno Seigle‑Murandi, claimed he was pressured by the former Roche Ireland CEO, Pierre‑Alain Dellay, to lie to the regulator and to avoid a recall of marketing material that omitted a sentence about adverse reactions, including two fatalities. The WRC concluded that the CEO's actions did not constitute penalisation, but that the CEO's attempts to align staff on a false narrative were concerning. The whistleblower's subsequent protected disclosure to the HPRA in July 2020 was deemed a protected communication, and the WRC found that the resulting bonus cuts and performance review were acts of penalisation.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Concerning' that pharma giant Roche penalised whistleblower, WRC finds. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• Friday 24 May 2019 Other
• 18 July Other
• July 2020 Other
• 2023-11-16 Publication

Why: "I never used any pressure point because he was part of the team. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report