Ex-FDA chief faces fine for conflict of interest

Former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford, who resigned in September 2005 shortly after being confirmed by the US Senate (Marketletters passim), is expected to avoid jail but pay a fine on charges of false reporting and conflicts of interest.

In October last year, Dr Crawford pleaded guilty to two charges that could each have carried a year's imprisonment. Prosecutors claimed that Dr Crawford, or his wife, traded stock in FDA-regulated firms while he was a Deputy Commissioner and later Commissioner at the federal government agency. He failed to disclose the share holdings and allegedly made false statements about them to Department of Justice investigators.