FCPA and anti-corruption strategies for the life sciences industry

Life sciences companies have been one of the most regulated industries over the past 10 to 15 years, with a significant number of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcements in total. There are prevalent signals in both messaging and actions from regulators that indicate a potential significant increase in enforcement. The U.S. deputy attorney general indicated that corruption and white-collar crime is a priority of the Biden administration, noting a ramp-up of additional resources to the criminal division’s fraud section, which is tasked with investigating FCPA cases.

In the Risk and Compliance magazine mini-roundtable interview, KPMG Forensic panelists answer some of the top questions on FCPA and anti-corruption strategies for the life sciences industry. The mini-roundtable covers:

• Recent enforcement action under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
• Trends in the authorities’ approach and intent
• Steps life sciences companies should consider when designing, implementing, monitoring, and updating their anti-corruption framework
• Specific considerations life sciences companies should make to mitigate FCPA cases involving third-party intermediaries
• Importance of boardroom buy-in when creating and rolling out anti-corruption strategies
• Essential advice for life sciences companies to ensure they maintain on-going compliance
• Predictions for the bribery and corruption challenges life companies will face in the coming months and years