Phooled Again - More Settlements Suggesting Bad Behavior by Big Pharma/ Biotech

Once again, here is a roundup of cases showing big multi-national pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are up to their usual tricks.Presented in alphabetical order...Bristol-Myers Squibb Settles Charges of Bribery of Chinese Hospitals.The best version of this I could find was in USA Today, in early October, 2015,Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to pay more than $14 million in fines to settle charges that its joint venture in China paid cash and other benefits to state-owned hospitals in exchange for prescription sales, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday.After its investigation, the SEC found that the New York-based company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in its dealings with Chinese hospitals and doctors and 'reaped more than $11 million in profits from its misconduct.'Bristol-Myers Squibb neither admitted nor denied the findings, the SEC said.The details, such as they were:Chinese sales representatives at BMS China, the Chinese joint venture that is majority-owned by Bristol-Myers, paid bribes — including cash, jewelry, meals, travel, entertainment, sponsorships and other gifts — to health care providers between 2009 and 2014 to generate more sales. And Bristol-Myers Squibb 'failed to respond effectively to red flags' indicating such practices, the SEC said.Apparently, some lower level Chinese employees were fired, although it is not clear whether they were involved in bribery, or in whistle-blowing about i...
Source: Health Care Renewal - Category: Health Management Tags: adulterated devices bribery Bristol-Myers-Squibb crime deception deferred prosecution agreement Genzyme intimidation legal settlements Pfizer Sanofi-Aventis Source Type: blogs