GlaxoChinaGate contd. - The Big Fix

Chinese police investigating allegations of widespread corrupt practices at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are likely to charge some of its Chinese executives but not the British drugmaker itself, legal and industry sources said. A charge against GSK itself would be a much more serious outcome for the company because it would imply higher-level corporate involvement and could result in major fines and even disruption to its operations in China. Police are also unlikely to lay criminal charges against Briton Mark Reilly, GSK’s former head of China operations, the sources said. There will likely be big fines, but it’s unlikely GSK will be thrown out of the country Reilly has been voluntarily assisting authorities following Chinese police accusations in July that GSK funnelled up to three billion yuan (HK$3.78 billion) to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to doctors and officials to boost its drug sales. The alleged bribery took place over a six-year period from 2007. The accusations are the most serious made against a multinational in China in years. GSK’s sales in China, one of its most important emerging markets, dived 61 per cent in the third quarter after hospital staff shunned visits by its sales teams in the wake of the probe. The investigation has coincided with stepped-up Chinese scrutiny of how foreign firms do business in the world’s second biggest economy, with the spotlight especially on graft and pricing in the pharmaceutical and infant milk formula markets...
Source: PharmaGossip - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs