The U.S. biotechnology industry encompasses a wide range of specialized branches, each requiring complex technical skills and scientific integrity. Unfortunately, the industry is facing increasing issues such as data fabrication, research manipulation, falsifying clinical trial enrollment criteria, illegal kickbacks in medical device sales, theft along the supply chain, and other professional misconduct.
Reliable clinical testing data is crucial to the proper functioning of the healthcare system and the safety of patients everywhere. The FDA’s assessment of new drugs and medical devices submitted for agency approval depends entirely on the integrity of the research and clinical trial data included in the application.
With billions of dollars and countless lives at stake, companies developing, marketing, and distributing medicines and medical devices must implement robust security protocols to detect and address potential dishonesty, theft, and misconduct among their researchers, contractors, and sales teams.
Securing the Biotechnology Industry
While standard security measures like pre-hire background screening effectively identify prospective employees and contractors with prior criminal histories, most biotech employers conduct no post-hire monitoring of employees. PostHire’s experience shows that up to 4% of the workforce may be involved in some type of criminal activity annually. Isn’t it just as important to know these types of events after onboarding?
Until recently, there was no cost-effective, nationwide, and real-time workforce monitoring solution to protect the valuable assets of biotech companies from criminal activities. PostHire now provides continuous workforce screening 24 hours a day with the most comprehensive coast-to-coast coverage and the capacity to notify employers of an employee’s criminal arrest the same day.
PostHire Closes Biotech’s Security Gap
The biotech industry typically hires employees and contractors with high educational and professional achievements, however that does not make them impervious to stress. To a small percentage, financial, professional, or home life pressures can become triggers for substance abuse, domestic violence, financial misconduct, or compromised integrity in their work.
Failure to have a program in place that helps identify the warning signs of these behaviors can be devastating as illustrated in these medical research and device related events.
- A Miami-based medical clinic owner and a pharmaceutical technician were sentenced to federal prison in 2023 for participating in a clinical trial fraud scheme involving the fabrication of clinical trial data.
- Also in 2023, the U.S. Department of Health found a University of Pennsylvania research associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care knowingly and intentionally falsified 51 figures and the methods, data, results, and conclusions of his work in five separate papers.
- The U.S. Department of Health Office of Research Integrity (ORI) concluded that another professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly falsified, fabricated, or plagiarized data to obtain grant money from National Institute of Health.
- A former sales representative at Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endosurgery division was convicted of conspiring to transport stolen medical devices in interstate commerce and money laundering. The same federal investigation also resulted in the conviction of 20 other defendants for similar crimes involving stolen medical devices.
- Medtronic recently alerted the public to the theft of a shipment of medical devices designated for destruction after failing quality control tests.
- Previously, Boston Scientific announced a shipment of products was stolen while being transported to a sterilization facility.
According to law enforcement, company insiders commit most medical device thefts.
PostHire ‘s Cost-Efficient National Coverage and Accurate Same-Day Notification
PostHire offers a solution to support organizations in detecting those early warning signs by providing a continuous screening product that accurately detects and reports employee criminal conduct. Our system relies on only official data and court records delivering 24/7 continuous national workforce monitoring. Other background screening service providers search limited geographic areas and rely on initial data often subject to gaps and later corrections. We provide near-100% data coverage of national court data.
PostHire obtains only verifiable data from reliable official judicial sources. PostHire’s stringent quality standards guarantee that no unconfirmed data will be passed to our clients, eliminating the risk of unwarranted job actions.
Determine Your Annual Savings with Continuous Workforce Screening
Are you concerned about the cost of Continuous Workforce Screening vs annual rescreening? PostHire’s Annual Savings Calculator demonstrates how an organization can implement a higher quality, more reliable, and comprehensive product at a fraction of the cost of annual employee rescreening.
It is never too late to learn about your employees’ risky criminal activity.
A safer workspace starts with one conversation.
Contact PostHire today for a 90-day look back at the criminal activity of your organization’s actual employees – at ZERO cost to you.
