FDA moves to plug trade secret leaks

WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Frank Torti is warning employees against leaking companies' trade secrets, a memo indicates.

Torti's memo, which was obtained by the In Vivo blog, outlined prohibitions against leaking commercial information that "can result in disciplinary sanctions and/or individual criminal liability," The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Torti goes on to include "internal memoranda, letters, and e-mail to and from employees within FDA" in the ban, encompassing such items as drafts of policymaking documents, draft notices of proposed and final rules and drafts of other Federal Register documents, the newspaper said.

The memo comes as the FDA has been weathering congressional attacks in recent years for unauthorized disclosures of competitive company information, the Journal said.