P.M. BRIEFING : FDA Aides May Have Broken Rules
As many as 17 Food and Drug Administration officials may have violated government ethics rules by accepting subsidized hotel rooms to attend drug industry meetings at a Puerto Rican luxury resort, congressional probers charged today.
In some cases, the subsidy exceeded $200 per room per night, and some of the officials also charged drinks, limousines and gift-shop items to their rooms.
The tab for the subsidies and the other items was picked up by the National Assn. of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, an industry group that represents generic drug companies, the investigators said.
The subsidies enabled the regulators to attend the group’s annual conferences from 1986 to 1988 at the posh Dorado Beach resort and not exceed their government expense allowances.
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