Employee Files Toxic Mold Lawsuit Against Amgen.

A worker at Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen Inc. has filed a lawsuit against her employer, claiming she was exposed to toxic mold that made her sick, that the company knew about the mold but covered up its findings and failed to alleviate the hazard.

Thousand Oaks resident Darcy Jensen, 31, is currently on disability as a result of claimed respiratory distress, headaches, dizziness, sinus infections, and other allergic-type reactions from alleged toxic mold contamination in one of the Amgen buildings in which she used to work.

The lawsuit, filed at the Ventura County Superior Court in Simi Valley, accuses Amgen of fraud and concealment, negligence, battery and other "unfair business practices."

Among court documents filed is an internal Amgen report indicating that the building where Jensen worked "appears to have problems" and that "mold is showing up in too many places."

The mold was found in a facility used to test Epogen, one of three drugs that Amgen makes to treat anemia in kidney dialysis patients.

The suit claims that Amgen has concealed from its employees, customers and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the discovery of microbial contamination in rooms used in the research and development of Epogen and other products being used in clinical trails by Amgen.

Jensen, a full-time Amgen employee for nearly nine years, was a facility supervisor for several laboratory buildings, including Building No. 5 (the primary building in question), said Alex Robertson, Jensen's attorney. Beginning in March 1999, Jensen began experiencing allergic-type reactions for reasons unknown to her, Robertson said.

Jensen discovered that environmental consultants who had been hired by Amgen concluded that in August of this year Building No. 5 was contaminated with toxic mold known to produce mycotoxins poisonous to humans, Robertson said. The mold allegedly found included a toxic variety known as Stachybotrys, which can cause allergic reactions, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Stachybotrys is a fungus found worldwide. It produces toxins that can affect the immune system, according to Indoor Air Solutions Inc., a firm that tests indoor air quality. It can have adverse effects on the central nervous system, eyes, skin arid upper and lower respiratory tract.

Amgen spokesman David Kaye said company officials would have no comment.

"As a matter of company policy, we don't comment on litigation," Kaye said.

Attorney David Walsh of Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, the firm representing Amgen, also declined to comment.

"Amgen does not comment on pending litigation," Walsh said.

"The people who work in these rooms wear moonsuits," Robertson explained. "(These rooms) are supposed to be antiseptically clean. To think you have toxic mold growing on the ceiling and walls from leaks is just astounding. The fact that it has been allowed to exist for several years is amazing."

Since Jensen has come forward, other Amgen employees have contacted her attorney, saying that they, too, have experienced similar allergic reactions, Robertson said. He would not reveal their names.