Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Safety

Police Investigate GlaxoSmithKline Sales Practices In China

Pharmaceuticals: Whistle-blowers accused GSK of paying Chinese doctors to prescribe its medicines

by Jean-François Tremblay
July 5, 2013 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 91, Issue 27

China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) has launched an investigation of GlaxoSmithKline’s operations there following whistle-blower allegations that the company has paid Chinese doctors to prescribe its medicines. The company, in a statement, says it is aware of a police probe but “at this stage, it is unclear from the PSB what the precise nature of the investigation is.”

The police have visited GSK offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Changsha, but the offices remain open and operating normally, says GSK spokeswoman Catherine Hartley. She would not confirm media reports in Hong Kong and China that police have detained GSK employees, including a foreign executive.

An internal audit of GSK sales practices in China is wrapping up, Hartley says, but so far the company has found no evidence of wrongdoing. (The recent firing of a GSK research executive in China, reported on page 17, is unrelated to sales practices.)

In a 2009 report, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that Chinese authorities are increasing their scrutiny of drug company sales practices in China. It advised firms to set up internal controls to stop sales staff from paying bribes.

The report noted that such checks are important, because “the pharmaceutical industry is particularly prone to bribery and corruption.” Drug companies in China still give “incentives” to doctors who boost sales of particular drugs by writing a large number of prescriptions, the report said.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.