Title 21 › CHAPTER 9 — FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT › SUBCHAPTER III — PROHIBITED ACTS AND PENALTIES › § 335a
Stops companies or people from taking part in certain generic drug approvals, importing some foods or drugs, or doing certain device inspection work when they are convicted of serious crimes or act in ways that hurt the drug or food review process. If a company (not an individual) is convicted after May 13, 1992 of a felony tied to the development or approval of a generic drug application, the Secretary must bar that company from submitting or helping with those applications. If an individual is convicted of a felony tied to drug development, approval, or regulation, the Secretary must bar that person from working in any role for anyone with an approved or pending drug product application. The Secretary may also bar people for other crimes, patterns of bad imports, or misconduct (including certain misdemeanors or state felonies) if the conduct undermines drug or food safety. For device third‑party inspection crimes, similar mandatory bans apply. Company debarments generally last 1 to 10 years (and can become permanent for repeats within 10 years); some individual debarments are permanent; other debarments may be up to 5 years. The Secretary can temporarily refuse to approve a generic drug application for up to 18 months (and may extend another 18 months if criminal charges are filed). The law gives short informal hearing rights (within 10 days) and deadlines for agency action (usually decisions within 60 or 180 days). The Secretary must publish debarments and keep a public list updated at least quarterly. Applicants must certify they did not and will not use debarred persons and must list certain recent convictions. Convictions include court judgments, guilty pleas, and some diversion programs, and some rules do not apply to convictions more than 5 years old or to actions before June 1, 1992 where noted.
Full Legal Text
Food and Drugs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
21 U.S.C. § 335a
Title 21, Food and Drugs
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110