Ex-InterMune CEO Harkonen’s Wire-Fraud Conviction Is Upheld
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Ex-InterMune Inc. Chief Executive Officer W. Scott Harkonen’s fraud conviction for disseminating misleading information about a drug’s clinical trial was upheld by an appeals court that rejected his free speech arguments.
Harkonen was convicted of wire fraud for his role in publicizing information about the drug Actimmune for the treatment of lung disease, a use the medicine wasn’t approved for. He sought reversal on grounds that he was engaging in “genuine scientific debate” about the drug in a press release issued about results of a clinical trial.