First one former sales representative, then another from drugmaker Amgen Inc. claimed they were fired or forced out for refusing to go along with unethical, even illegal practices to boost sales of the costly drug Enbrel to psoriasis patients, the Ventura Country Star reports.

Now two federal agencies and four state attorneys general are investigating the practices of the company, according to the sales representatives’ New Jersey lawyer, who said memos and other material show that the health of some patients likely was jeopardized.

Amgen’s sales force was pushed to encourage dermatologists to switch psoriasis patients from other treatments to Enbrel, even if they had common medical conditions Enbrel could have worsened, said ex-saleswoman Elena Ferrante of Montvale, N.J., who said she was fired in August 2005 after eight years of “outstanding” performance reviews.

Ferrante said doctors were paid to host outreach programs where they would laud Enbrel to psoriasis patients , even those with just a mild form of the disfiguring skin condition. Use of Enbrel, a blockbuster genetically engineered drug that patients inject once or twice a week, is not approved for people with mild psoriasis, who normally get inexpensive topical creams or generic pills.

“They wanted the whole market share,” Ferrante’s lawyer, Lydia Cotz, said of Amgen.

Amgen, of Thousand Oaks, denies any wrongdoing.

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