[1] In 1937, he was responsible for dispatching very nearly the entire field force of the FDA to track down remnants of the poisonous Elixir Sulfanilamide which killed 109 people, and highlighted the need for pre-market testing of new drugs.

[1] Larrick was noted for his ability to maintain good relations with Congress, and major amendments began to transform the 1938 Act from a primarily punitive law to one designed to assure consumer protection by preventing violations.

One of its strongest critics was Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, who accused the Agency of showing lax management, having ineffective leadership, of being slow moving, and of lagging in scientific work.

[1] Larrick's administration oversaw the 1959 cranberry recall due to residues of the carcinogenic pesticide aminotriazole; the issuance of a public warning against the Hoxsey cancer treatment; legal actions against Krebiozen, another false cancer treatment; prohibition of thalidomide as a human teratogen in 1961; and the passage in 1962 of the Kefauver Harris Amendment ("Drug Efficacy Amendment") to the 1938 Act in response to the thalidomide affair.

[1] Congressional investigations into thalidomide brought accusations that drug manufacturers had too easy access to regulators, and could thereby exert undue influence upon the review process.

[1] In 1955, the Drexel Institute of Technology conferred on him an honorary Doctorate of Science; and in 1968, he was recognized by the Association of Food and Drug Officials as a "catalyst who consistently brought about constructive change, and a skilled administrator in a field that requires experience, courage, respect for the rights of the regulated, and faith in the due process of law.