US FDA's call to raise drug fraud punishment

The US Food and Drug Administration's five-year efforts to secure more severe sentences under the US Sentencing Guidelines have largely been ignored until now, according to the FDA Law Blog. However, the Sentencing Commission has now included offences under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to its list of priorities. Following a public consultation with regard to some amendments to the FDC Act, the FDA asked the Commission to consider a number of changes. Reviewing the Sentencing Commission's recommendations, attorneys from the Washington DC-based law firm Hyman, Phelps and McNamara said the "FDA got some, but certainly not even most, of what it was seeking."

The Commission declined to amend the Guidelines to explicitly cover human growth hormone offenses or to amend the Guidelines to increase the sentences for Prescription Drug Marketing Act offenses.