UK drug company [b]GlaxoSmithKline[/b] (GSK) is facing a criminal investigation in Poland for allegedly bribing doctors, according to a [s]BBC Panorama[/s] programme. [s]BBC News[/s] reports that 11 doctors and a GSK regional manager have been charged over alleged corruption between 2010 and 2012. A GSK whistleblower claims that money put aside to teach patients in Poland about an asthma drug, [b]Seretide[/b], actually went towards paying doctors to prescribe more of the medicine. GSK said one employee had been disciplined and it was co-operating with investigations.
The [s]Financial Times[/s] writes that GSK has become ‘a lightning rod for scrutiny’ since it was accused of funneling $500m to Chinese doctors and officials. Allegations of bribery in an EU country could catch the attention of authorities in the US and UK, which both have powers to prosecute companies for overseas corruption.
[link url=http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26970873]Full BBC News report[/link]
[link url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/904d7ee0-c3a6-11e3-a8e0-00144feabdc0.html]Full Financial Times report[/link]