He Said, We Said

On November 12, 2009, there was a lot of tough talk from the DOJ's Lanny Breuer (left). The new chief of the criminal division warned pharmaceutical companies and executives about their exposure under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He said, "Our focus and resolve in the FCPA area will not abate, and we will be intensely focused on rooting out foreign bribery in your industry. That will mean investigation and, if warranted, prosecution of corporations to be sure, but also investigation and prosecution of senior executives."

He was speaking at an annual pharma compliance confab in Washington. A copy of his remarks can be downloaded here.

On September 3, 2009, the FCPA Blog said:

Will drug makers be the target of the next industry-wide Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation, following in the footsteps of the oil and gas services companies and orthopedic device makers? It's possible. Their sales practices are in the news a lot these days. And amid the healthcare debate, drug-company behavior anywhere invites attention in Washington and beyond.

Remember the orthopedic device makers? Like Pfizer this week and Eli Lilly earlier this year, they resolved enforcement actions based on illegal domestic sales practices. Soon after, most of them disclosed that the DOJ and SEC were looking into their overseas marketing methods for any FCPA offenses. Those investigations are ongoing. . . .

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