French drugmaker Sanofi is being probed in China for bribery, as the country continues its crackdown on illegal activity in the scandal-hit pharmaceuticals industry.
Beijing municipal authorities have set up a joint team to probe Sanofi, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The probe comes after a Chinese newspaper published bribery allegations against the company.
According to an anonymous whistleblower, cited by Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald, Sanofi staff paid bribes totalling 1.69m yuan ($274,000; €205,000; £177,000) to 503 doctors at 79 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, in late 2007, to encourage them to prescribe Sanofi products.
The payments were listed as "research expenses", according to the report. The newspaper alleged Sanofi paid doctors 80 yuan every time a patient bought its products, with the largest payment being 11,200 yuan.
The Beijing municipal health bureau will coordinate with disciplinary authorities to investigate the case, a bureau official told Xinhua.
Beijing municipal authorities have set up a joint team to probe Sanofi, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The probe comes after a Chinese newspaper published bribery allegations against the company.
According to an anonymous whistleblower, cited by Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald, Sanofi staff paid bribes totalling 1.69m yuan ($274,000; €205,000; £177,000) to 503 doctors at 79 hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, in late 2007, to encourage them to prescribe Sanofi products.
The payments were listed as "research expenses", according to the report. The newspaper alleged Sanofi paid doctors 80 yuan every time a patient bought its products, with the largest payment being 11,200 yuan.
The Beijing municipal health bureau will coordinate with disciplinary authorities to investigate the case, a bureau official told Xinhua.
