40 BILLION

A desperate lone wolf battles to bring down a corrupt treacherous Big Pharma CEO, after his daughter’s brain is fried by PROCURA, their illegally marketed psychiatric drug. Grandmas killed, kids disabled – go inside a colossal fraud – discover KAASPER – reveal a dark side of Pharma.

Think: Spotlight - Erin Brockovich - with Michael Clayton aspects.

Awards: Finalist, 2018 True Story Screenplay Competition; other selections.

Inspired by the true story of Pharma’s off-label marketing fraud (sales reps promote their prescription medicine for use(s) outside the FDA approved product label), and my experiences as a PhD scientist / Pharma exec (e.g., VP Clinical Research & Regulatory).

This story has been burning inside me for years, it portrays a voice and perspective only possible by someone from inside the Pharma industry.

“40 BILLION”

Logline: Grandmas killed, kids disabled – go inside a colossal fraud – discover KAASPER – reveal a dark side of Pharma. A desperate lone wolf battles to bring down a corrupt treacherous Big Pharma CEO, after his daughter’s brain is fried by PROCURA, their illegally marketed psychiatric drug.

Genre: True Story Drama, Pharmaceutical Corruption / Medical Spotlight.

Think: Spotlight - Erin Brockovich - with Michael Clayton aspects.

Character Arc: David evolves from a bullied meek lamb to: a proficient medical writer, an advocate against corruption, an expert courtroom witness who also testifies to a US Senate hearing on Pharma fraud. David is repeatedly tested to overcome setbacks and obstacles against Goliath odds; yet, he completely turns the tables on initially powerful and dominant Armond, who ends in dire straits.

Feature film first, then an ongoing TV series that explores real world issues.

Finalist, 2018 True Story Contest. See below: ISA-Reviewer's Analysis

Brief Synopsis:
Grandmas killed, kids disabled – go inside a colossal fraud – discover KAASPER – reveal a dark side of Pharma. A desperate lone wolf battles to bring down a corrupt treacherous Big Pharma CEO, after his daughter’s brain is fried by PROCURA, their illegally marketed psychiatric drug.

Think: Spotlight - Erin Brockovich - with Michael Clayton aspects.

Awards: Finalist, 2018 True Story Screenplay Competition; other selections.

Inspired by the true story of Pharma’s off-label marketing fraud (sales reps promote their prescription medicine for use(s) outside the FDA approved product label), and my experiences as a PhD scientist / Pharma exec (e.g., VP Clinical Research & Regulatory).
DAVID FREEMAN, a morally-driven father, versus ARMOND RATKO, a sharp-elbowed power- and greed-driven Big Pharma exec who runs marketing & sales Army-style for BPW. David’s a naïve meek Danbury beat police sergeant, he met his bitter wife WENDY at 4-H lamb club, and their daughter JEN is an honor student and soccer star.
Jen’s bullied, quits UConn freshman soccer, develops mild depression, but her shrink, who’s a BPW consultant, is heavy with pills; thus, Procura causes her to become bipolar. Jen attempts suicide, becomes disabled, is institutionalized by Wendy after she divorces David.
Grandmas killed, kids disabled – disdainful honesty reveals a dark side of Pharma. The BPW CEO (kick-ass ex-Marine Colonel) threatens Armond, so he masterminds a mega-billion-dollar scam of bribes, kickbacks, and FDA-defiance. His KAASPER project illegally pushes Procura, a small-time drug FDA approved for adults age 18-65 diagnosed with schizophrenia, off-label into a $-billion blockbuster for mental symptoms regardless of age. He invents the memorable but mythical sales pitch "Procura corrects your brain chemical imbalance", and markets Procura to control unruly kids and geriatrics, “Procura for kids and grandmas.”
Desperate to help Jen, David connects with an academic guru, develops writing skills, and becomes a contract ghostwriter to get inside BPW's fraud. He reports Armond’s corruption and gets fired. This starts a downward spiral: he loses his wife and home, is blackballed, nets only $7,700 from his wrongful termination lawsuit, melts down, and turns to drinking. He’s thwarted by his ex-wife and lack of money to battle the health system. He reconnects with a high school buddy who provides work as a bricklayer and a bedroom for the winter, regains dignity, reclaims his teenage ideals, builds a log cabin home from trees on the mountain, and pursues Armond. Armond exceeds the promised $5-billion annual sales and is made CEO. David regains his mojo and spearheads a False Claims Act lawsuit that decreases Procura sales. Armond orders David hit by a Brooklyn teenage buddy, VINNY "THE BEAR." The button guy gets nabbed, takes witness protection, and the FBI pursues Armond.
David wins the courtroom showdown. He now has money to rescue Jen from the mental hospital but must still win a custodial lawsuit to transfer her into a unique private facility that uses Open Dialogue Talk Therapy instead of drugs. David becomes a tough but oh-so-gentle bulldog who repeatedly overcomes setbacks and obstacles against “Goliath” odds. He completely turns the tables on initially powerful Armond, who ends in dire straits. David testifies to a US Senate hearing on Pharma fraud, he blossoms emotionally, and finds true love in a surprising place.
The False Claims Act imposes liability for defrauding the government. Pharma’s have paid over $40 billion in False Claims Act penalties or settlements in the USA, the postscript names the top 20 with their factual amounts ranging from $280 million to $4.1 billion.

ISA-Reviewer’s Analysis, Excerpts:
“I found this unexpectedly effective… the story is interesting, has a point of view that feels noble, a protagonist with clear goals who does something, and an evil that gets defeated. The most crucial thing is that this is an important story, one that a lot of people need to know about.
The dialogue word choices and their delivery lend a colloquial perfection that I think must be the sign of some natural writing magic peeking through…
The writing magic I mentioned above comes into play in how I felt about David and Jen even before things got really bad for them. I thought Jen was going to kill herself, and I didn’t want that to happen because I already cared about her and her father, and I already sympathized with David because of how his wife was acting. Scenes like the one with David and Jen on Valentine’s Day are all it takes, to make characters have an emotional weight in the reader’s mind, but that weight existed for me even before the V-day scene…
There is always a market for stories that are modern-day renditions of David and Goliath, and I think that this script’s David is a compelling and sympathetic character who could keep an audience engaged. There is a lot of good stuff going on in $40 Billion False Claims, and the writer clearly knows the material well. I want to see this movie happen.”
Copyright © 2020, by JJ Frey, PhD

CONTACT:JJJFreyPhD@gmail.com

Sincerely,
JJ Frey, PhD