1.Bribery and Kickbacks

A pharmaceutical company tried to boost its sales by encouraging doctors to use its new drug, LDL Control, to treat high cholesterol. An important part of their sales pitch included paying for lavish dinners and weekend trips for the doctors and their families. The company also gave doctors expensive gifts if they prescribed a certain number of prescriptions of LDL Control each month. Is this an acceptable form of marketing or criminal behavior?

Answer the question with 300-500 words.

2. A drug company applied for the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a miracle drug that the company believed could cure some cancers. During the period that the application was under consideration the company's stock rose to $65 per share. The president of the company learned that the FDA application was about to be denied. You are a personal friend of the president, and he told you that he believed that the stock will start trading downward. You sell 4,000 shares of stock which you purchased for $10 per share. Your decision appears to be a good one since you made a profit of about $200,000. When questioned about the sale by an investigator from the Securities and Exchange Commission, you state that the sale was because of a preexisting arrangement to sell the shares when the price fell below $60 per share. Following the announcement that the FDA application was denied, the stock went to $7 per share.

• Did you commit a crime when you sold the stock?
• Did you commit a crime in your answer to the federal agent?
• Were you part of an illegal conspiracy?

Answer the three questions with 450-650 words.

*The two questions are separate

Reference textbook:The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business 17th – Marisa Anne Pagnatt