PhRMA Offers “No Reasonable Expert” Standard For Addressing Fraud Charges

PhRMA is backing former InterMune CEO W. Scott Harkonen in his appeal of a fraud conviction for making false statements about Actimmune in a press release. The association argues that he expressed a scientific view that is protected from prosecution under the First Amendment.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is going to bat for convicted industry exec W. Scott Harkonen, arguing that the government should not have held him criminally liable for expressing his opinion about the results of a clinical trial in a press release.

In a Nov. 4 amicus brief filed in Harkonen’s appeal, PhRMA contends that an affirmation of his conviction...