The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) is pleased to announce the expansion of its membership to include ERT, Oracle and Veeva. These new ACRO member companies, with their focus on digital technologies that enable global clinical trials, characterize the ongoing innovation and evolution of contemporary clinical research. ACRO now has 12 member companies.

Pharmaceutical giants will bury treatments in a thicket of patents, making them unaffordable to the world’s poorest

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

How will the Covid-19 pandemic end? According to conventional wisdom, the crisis may ease in a few months, when some of the antiviral medicines on trial succeed. In a few years’ time, when a vaccine becomes available, we may eradicate the virus altogether.

Yet it’s unlikely that this is how the pandemic will actually play out. Although there is every indication that treatments for coronavirus may soon emerge, the mere fact of their existence is no guarantee that people will be able to access them. In fact, Covid-19 is more likely to end in the same way that every pandemic ends: treatments and vaccines will be buried in a thicket of patents – and pharmaceutical companies will ultimately make the decisions about who lives and who dies.

Related: The race to find a coronavirus treatment has one major obstacle: big pharma | Ara Darzi

Click to view a price quote on ELAN.

Gilead Sciences has captured worldwide attention with its COVID-19 antiviral, remdesivir, cleared late last week by the FDA—not all of it welcome. With bad actors targeting companies at the head of the spear in the pandemic response, Gilead may have found itself in their sights.

Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to its second lowest since mid-March on Saturday, as half the country prepared to move to the next phase of an exit from one of Europe's strictest lockdowns.

The former vice president of reinsurance of American International Group Inc. (AIG), was sentenced today to four years in prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate AIG’s financial statements.

A 24-count indictment charging five individuals with various crimes arising from an alleged scheme to defraud investors through the manipulation of the publicly traded stocks of three companies was unsealed today in Tulsa, Okla.

APL Limited has agreed to pay the government $26.3 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the United States in connection with contracts to transport cargo in shipping containers to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has permanently barred Chalamar Muhammad and her husband, Curtis Muhammad, from preparing tax returns for others. Judge Harvey Bartle III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered the order of permanent injunction after the Coatesville, Pa., couple failed to defend against the government’s allegations.

A securities attorney was charged in an indictment unsealed today with participating in a stock registration evasion scheme involving nine different publicly traded companies and with defrauding investors in a manipulation scheme related to three of the companies.

An Iranian citizen and his Tehran business have been charged with purchasing helicopter engines and advanced aerial cameras for fighter bombers from U.S. firms and illegally exporting them to Iran using companies in Malaysia, Ireland and the Netherlands. Among the alleged recipients of these U.S. goods was an Iranian military firm that has since been designated by the United States for being owned or controlled by entities involved in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program.

A stock trader from Jupiter, Fla., pleaded guilty today to engaging in a market manipulation scheme involving several publicly traded companies. Earlier today, Paul M. Gozzo, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.

Two former senior executives of CSK Auto Corp. (CSK), have been charged in a 31-count indictment for a scheme to manipulate the company’s reported earnings. The indictment, returned on April 7, 2009, by a federal grand jury in Phoenix, charges Martin G. Fraser, 53, of Glendale, Ariz., and Don W. Watson, 53, of Gilbert, Ariz., with conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), false books and records, and false statements to its auditor.

Three international airline companies—Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A., Japan-based Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. (NCA), and Korea-based Asiana Airlines Inc.—have each agreed to plead guilty and pay criminal fines totaling $214 million for conspiring to fix prices in the air cargo industry. In addition, Asiana was charged with fixing the passenger fares charged on flights from the United States to Korea.

Two Department of Defense (DOD) contractors were charged with conspiracy and bribery relating to their roles involving DOD contracts in Afghanistan. A Lebanese contracting company is also charged with participating in the same conspiracy.

"You will be starting your service at a time when your government is placing a new and long overdue value on the scientific skills you have developed in this program."

Thirty-six companies allegedly responsible for hazardous contamination of soil and groundwater at the Breslube-Penn Superfund Site in Coraopolis, Pa., have agreed to cleanup up the site. According to the settlement filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies have agreed to fund and/or complete a $12 million cleanup at the seven-acre site.

Raschad L. "Sean" Lewis, a former fuel section employee of Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. (KBR), assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, was found guilty yesterday by a federal jury of conspiracy, false writing, bribery of a public official, and false claims stemming from a bribery and a fuel diversion scheme.

Two U.S. military officials pleaded guilty to various bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges relating to Department of Defense (DOD) contracts in Afghanistan.

The United States has settled with two German moving companies relating to allegations of bid rigging in violation of the False Claims Act.

The city of Duluth, Minn., and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District have agreed to make improvements to the area’s sewer system, estimated to cost about $130 million, to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows in an agreement filed today in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.

A retired U.S. military official pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy charges relating to Department of Defense (DOD) contracts in Afghanistan. According to the plea agreement, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago today, First Lieutenant Robert Moore (Ret.) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges.

Today the Departments of Justice, State and Treasury announced coordinated actions against the Gulf Cartel/Los Zetas drug trafficking organization, now known as the "Company," in the latest in a series of efforts by the U.S. government to neutralize and dismantle this violent cartel.

"The Asset Forfeiture Program is critical to our efforts to reduce and deter criminal activity. Your use of civil and criminal forfeiture to seize and forfeit the assets of organized crime targets is essential for this fight."

The former and current owners and operators of a chemical facility in Addyston, Ohio, LANXESS Corp. and INEOS ABS USA Corp., have agreed to pay a $3.1 million civil penalty and INEOS will spend up to $2 million to install environmental controls and modify operating procedures to resolve violations of multiple environmental laws.

Five companies have agreed to compensate the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania nearly $21.4 million in cash and valuable property to address natural resource damages resulting from decades of zinc smelting operations at the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site in northeast Pennsylvania.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Fayette County, Pa., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under the Department’s Project Civic Access initiative, which aims to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Two dual Afghan/U.S. citizens today pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme to offer $1 million in bribes to a U.S. Army contracting official in Afghanistan.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, to foster increased communication between participating agencies at the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Fusion Center and the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2).

Raschad L. “Sean” Lewis, a former fuel section employee of Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in a bribery and a fuel diversion scheme. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema also ordered Lewis to pay $891,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

The Department of Justice today announced that Mohammed Jawad, a native of Afghanistan, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan.

Two demolition and salvage companies and three of their respective owners and supervisors were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn. The indictment describes a year-long scheme in which the former Standard Coosa Thatcher plant in Chattanooga was illegally demolished while still containing large amounts of asbestos.

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan. Bryan Lee Burrows, 42, of Wagoner, Okla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

"We seek diversity not just for its own sake, but because our nation is stronger when people from all backgrounds participate in the administration of justice."

Delmar Dwayne Spier, the chief executive officer and managing director of United States Protection and Investigations, LLC (USPI), today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy, major fraud and wire fraud arising from an alleged scheme to defraud the United States; and his wife, Barbara Edens Spier, the president and owner of USPI, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with U.S.-sponsored rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.

Dr. Candido Negron Mella pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for his participation in a corruption scheme involving the 2000 Resident Commissioner campaign of a former governor of Puerto Rico.

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, has been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), based in Virginia Beach, Va., has agreed to pay a $900,000 civil penalty and to take corrective actions to reduce alleged sanitary sewer overflows from its collection system and nine sewage treatment plants that have polluted the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Ryan Scott McMonigle, 37, of Ponca City, Okla., was indicted today for his alleged role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan.

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical have entered into settlement agreements for a total of $124 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs for drugs paid for by those programs.

The Army Sergeant has agreed to pay $90,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation.

While no words can lessen the sorrow being felt today by these families, I hope their loved ones know they have the unending respect and gratitude of this nation. They certainly have mine.

On Nov. 3, 2009, the department will monitor elections in the following jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes: the cities of Lowell and Springfield, Mass.; the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; Middlesex County and the borough of Penns Grove, N.J.; Orange County and Queens, N.Y., and the city of Philadelphia.

Rohullah Farooqi Lodin and Hashmatullah Farooqi were each sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to four years in prison for their roles in a scheme to offer $1 million in bribes to a U.S. Army contracting official in Afghanistan.

Charles Paul Edward Jumet of Fluvanna County, Va., pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to Panamanian government officials to secure a maritime contract.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that since 2003, defendants have violated the False Claims Act.

Scott Anthony Walker, 36, of Australia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

Consuelo Carreto Valencia, a member of the Carreto family sex trafficking ring that operated between Mexico and Queens, N.Y., was sentenced to 121 months in prison for benefitting financially from her participation in the organization, which transported young Mexican women to the United States and forced them into prostitution.

The department has filed papers seeking a federal court order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a “John Doe summons” on Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver of the Stanford Group Company (SGC) and related entities.

A federal grand jury has returned multiple indictments arising out of a fatal racially motivated beating and related police corruption in Shenandoah, Pa.