Life Sciences Industry Members Who Contract With Government Should Note Recent Amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation
This post was written by Lorraine M. Campos, Gregory S. Jacobs and Brett D. Gerson.
On November 12, 2008, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to establish: (1) mandatory disclosure requirements for certain violations of federal criminal law and the False Claims Act; (2) requirements for contractors to establish and maintain specific internal controls to detect, prevent, and disclose improper conduct in connection with the award or performance of any government contract or subcontract; and (3) new causes for suspension and debarment. See 73 Fed. Reg. 219, 67,064 (Nov. 12, 2008). The final rule went into effect December 12, 2008, and applies to all federal government contracts in amounts greater than $5 million and more than 120 days in duration, including small business and commercial item contracts. Certain exceptions are discussed in the attached.
Thank you for offering to brief members of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (www.raps.org) on this issue at our quarterly chapter meeting coming up in March. The last briefings from Reed Smith were very informative and well received.