Former Synthes North America President Michael Huggins was the first of four executives to be sentenced Monday for conducting unauthorized testing on humans.
A federal judge said Monday that the pursuit of profits blinded Huggins to the "the sanctity of human life,” reports AP.
Huggins was hit with a nine-month prison sentence for unapproved medical tests that caused the deaths of three patients.
U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis called their actions "egregious" and said the officers showed "disregard for the safety of others ... and for the sanctity of human life."
The judge denied Huggins' bid for probation and ordered him to be imprisoned immediately, reports AP.
The other defendants being sentenced Monday were former senior vice president Thomas B. Higgins, of Berwyn; ex-director of regulatory and clinical affairs John J. Walsh, of Coatesville; and former Synthes Vice President Richard Bohner, of Malvern.
In 2009, each executive pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor as a "responsible corporate officer." No-one had previously been imprisoned under that statute at the time, reports AP.
However, prosecutors accused them of "human experimentation," and indicated they would soon strive to have the defendants imprisoned.
