Imagine your pharmaceutical company signs a multi-million-dollar contract with a research organization to do clinical trials for a new therapy. After the project gets underway, you happen to find out that the individuals who own the company are under investigation for questionable compliance practices related to bribery and tax evasion. Should you be concerned?
You may think the answer is no, but you’d be sadly mistaken. Even though the research organization is a separate entity and, as far as you know, everything they’ve been doing for your company is above-board, you still might be in hot water.
Guilty by Association
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been cracking down on pharmaceutical companies of all sizes. You could be in trouble simply by association. If that’s the case, you may be exposing your company to seven-figure fines, serious penalties and crippling sanctions. Not to mention unfavorable media coverage and reputation loss, could be damaging to your company’s brand. The damage to your company’s brand, financial health and overall success could be substantial and last for years!
An out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance can lead to serious consequences. In tightening its scrutiny, the DOJ may hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for ensuring not just their own compliance but also the compliance of any third parties with which they associate. Turning a blind eye to non-compliant business practices could make you vulnerable to scandal.
Protecting Your Brand and Assets
The best approach is to uncover corrupt players before their actions develop into a large-scale crisis that jeopardizes the health of your entire company. Fortunately, that’s not as hard as you think.
Automated identity verification and fraud prevention tools customized to your workflow can help you be proactive. They can identify potential bad actors in your network of vendors, suppliers and partners, reducing your company’s risk and giving you peace of mind. Find out more.
