Ex-FDA Chemist Sentenced to Five Years (Reflection Paper)

The Case
GREENBELT, Md. A former Food and Drug Administration chemist was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for illegally trading pharmaceutical-company stocks based on confidential drug-approval information he accessed while at the agency. U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow said Mr. Liang took advantage of his position at the FDA in a "very brazen way" for several years. Mr. Liang, a long-time FDA chemist, said his actions had damaged the reputation of the FDA and destroyed his family. "I'm terribly sorry for what I've done," he told the judge.

The Issue
Mr. Liang has committed serious offense divulging private FDA research information to pharmaceutical companies. FDA Chemist Liang must have it signed in the contract that the information in which he was granted an access must not be divulged. So the primary offense here is the breach of contract. However, the act of divulging the companys secret information is also a violation to the Chemist Code of Ethics. To Their Employer, Chemical professionals should promote and protect the legitimate interests of their employers, perform work honestly, competently, comply with safety policies and procedures, fulfil obligations, and safeguard proprietary and confidential business information, pertaining to Sections 3, 5, and 20 of the Code of Ethics Board of Chemistry. As chemist working on Food and Drug Administration, his duty is vital. The primary duty of the FDA is to inspect, test, approve, and set safety standards for foods and food additives, drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and household and medical devices. Generally, the FDA is empowered to prevent untested products from being sold and to take legal action to halt sale of undoubtedly harmful products or of products which involve a health or safety risk. Through court procedure, the FDA can seize products and prosecute the persons or firms responsible for legal violation. Researches are often done to improve the quality standard of foods and drugs in terms of safety and purity, as well as the efficiency and side-effects of those. Foods and Drugs

are needed by the body for sustenance and treatment of illnesses, respectively. Pharmacies prepare and sell drugs. The inspection of FDA is done occasionally to ensure that the drugs being sold and prepared satisfy the safety and purity standard imposed by the FDA as deemed fit by the constantly demanding standard of living of the 21st century individuals. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers were hit hard by a series of FDA rejections and bans. In September the FDA placed strict curbs on GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Avandia, which once had annual sales of $3 billion. The FDA said that its ruling was based on studies linking Avandia with increased heart attack risks. (About 600,000 diabetics in the U.S. were using Avandia at the time of the ruling.) European regulators blocked future sales of the drug in their territories - Business Overviews of Pharmaceuticals 2010 article. This is just one of the pharmacies that were hit hard by the rejections of FDA. Due to this authority of the FDA, the other pharmacies may have resorted into turning one of the chemist into one of the moles of the FDA and so that for some reasons, Mr. Liang has coordinated with these pharmaceuticals.

Reflection
Divulging research information to these pharmacies therefore is a serious offense. Earlier, it is mentioned that this is a violation to the Code of Ethics of Chemists to their employer. The chemist did not just dishonoured himself, he has also dishonoured his family, and damaged the integrity of FDA itself. Also, the consumers of the drugs manufactured by this group of pharmacies. The drugs that had only slipped on the inspections of the FDA. Those consumers had taken those drugs that are, say, supposed to be banned by the FDA due to the side effects as shown by the Research Department of the FDA. This is warning to all employers of Chemical Workers to always ensure to it that the information obtained from the research must not be divulged by the responsible chemist, and for the Chemical Workers to etch the Chemist Code of Ethics to our hearts. Mr. Liang is thus guilty of divulging confidential information of the FDA to a rank of pharmaceuticals as cited on the lawsuits earlier on this paper.