I'm speaking of exec's getting fat option grants just before very material upside news. IRS ruled that upside should be considered current income. Backdating options, I do remember that as well.
If you do look at just m&a activity in biotech, take a look at option grants prior to any merger, you will typically see some not that far before the actual deal, while companies are well into negotiations.
CYBX was one of the firms that cheated on the timing of options grants—not by backdating the options, but rather by granting them when they knew the share price was about to pop: #msg-11527651.
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