Imclone Business Ethics Essay Example

then dropped to about $36 per share by January 2002 (Unknown, 2002). What could be a motivating factor for an individual or company to bypass vital drug testing required by the FDA for approval? One significant reason could be the financial pressures faced by the company leading them to skip through drug testing.

The process of bringing a drug from idea to prototype to testing and approval is lengthy and requires consistent financial support. ImClone dedicated seven years to developing a cancer treatment drug, but did not produce any products for sale. This lack of progress likely resulted in financial and academic pressures on the company to quickly bring Erbitux to market. The aim was to recover research and development costs and achieve profitability with its first drug. Additionally, the company may have manipulated test results by using smaller study groups, conducting tests without control groups, or using an insufficiently small group size, which would prevent the detection of side effects observed in larger test populations, thus not impacting the approval process.

The test results could be manipulated by deliberately omitting test results or manipulating test reports during the testing phase, in order to achieve favorable outcomes (Adams, 2008). Samuel Waksal's reaction upon learning that the FDA would not approve Erbitux reflected his greed, lack of personal responsibility, lack of ethics, and lack of integrity. Although he knowingly accepted the risks associated with stock options as part of his pay package in a start-up company, he was unwilling to accept the consequences when he discovered that the stock price was about to drop. Similarly, his family willingly took market risks by purchasing ImClone stock but refused to

face the losses and instead exploited the livelihood of ImClone employees who suffered significant losses due to the decrease in stock value. Investing in the financial world always entails unpredictable outcomes - financial loss, gain, and anxiety cannot be guaranteed.

Samuel Waksal acted in an unethical manner by prioritizing his financial interests over the well-being of his stockholders, employees, and other investors. This included those individuals who had dedicated their expertise to developing ImClone's anti-cancer drug. His actions were deemed unethical because he utilized undisclosed information that was unknown to his staff, board of directors, and stockholders. Samuel took advantage of privileged information for personal financial gain as well as benefiting his family. These deliberate actions were performed with a clear understanding that they violated both ethical and moral standards.

Even high-ranking individuals must adhere to ethical standards, integrity, and personal values. The imprisonment of Samuel Waksal for 87 months and the requirement to pay $3 million in fines and $1.2 million in restitution to the New York State Sales Tax Commission serves as a strong reminder of this fact. As one ascends the corporate hierarchy, misusing power results in increased penalties. Company executives are held accountable for their behavior, both personally and professionally, with an expectation that they will consistently act in their company's best interests. Samuel Waksal's case demonstrates the consequences when executives neglect their corporate duties and prioritize greed over ethics and integrity.

Bibliography

1. Weiss, J. (2006). Business Ethics. Toronto: Thomson South-Western.
2. Hays, C. (2008, January 28). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.tml?sec=health&res=9C00E7DB153FF932A25753C1A9659C8B63.
3. Retrieved January 28, 2008, from New York Times: http://query.nytimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C00E7DB153FF932A25753C1A9659C8B63 Unknown.

The information was obtained from Findarticles.com on January 27, 2008 by Adams

(2008).
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