Morrison Foerster partners Kate Driscoll and Nate Mendell, both former federal prosecutors and members of the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group, hosted the seventh episode of When Your Life Sciences Are on the Line, where leading practitioners and thought leaders share the insights and advice needed to manage business and legal risk in the life sciences sector.
In this episode, Kate and Nate spoke with Chen Zhu, a partner in Morrison Foerster’s Investigations + White Collar Defense and FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Groups, and James Koukios, co-head of Morrison Foerster’s FCPA + Global Anti-Corruption Group and former senior deputy chief of the Fraud Section at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Together, they discussed anti-corruption and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) considerations and enforcement concerns for life sciences companies, especially those operating in both the U.S. and China.
Chen provided key insights into China’s recent draft anti-corruption compliance guidelines for the healthcare sector, which outline high-risk activities involving healthcare professionals. Chen also gave his forecast for where Chinese regulators will focus their enforcement in the future. In addition, James summarized the current state of the FCPA, highlighting the ongoing robust enforcement by DOJ and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and detailing the specific risks that life sciences companies face under the FCPA, including “pay to prescribe” and “pay to play” schemes. In light of these updates, this episode highlights the importance of multinational companies operating in the U.S. and China having a globally coordinated strategy for managing compliance risks in both countries.