Orthofix Deferred Prosecution Agreement Extended for Two Months

Orthofix DPA

In a recently-filed status report, the DOJ and medical device manufacturer Orthofix revealed that the company's Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) will be extended by two months.  The DPA was due to expire on July 17, 2015, but the status report states that Orthofix agreed to the extension in June to give DOJ "additional time to (1) evaluate Orthofix’s compliance with the internal controls and compliance undertakings in the DPA and (2) further investigate potentially improper conduct the company disclosed during the term of the DPA."  The report continued that DOJ intended to complete its investigation in August and inform Orthofix "of its proposed course of action shortly thereafter." Orthofix entered into the DPA on July 10, 2012 to resolve allegations that a Mexico-based subsidiary paid bribes to employees of Mexico's government-operated health system (see prior FCPA scorecard coverage). Earlier this year, another medical device manufacturer, Biomet, announced that its DPA would be extended for one year after it disclosed additional potential FCPA violations to the DOJ and SEC.