China Cracks the Whip on Pharmaceutical Companies Involved in Bribery

China's Ministry of Health has embarked on a drive of ridding the pharmaceutical industry off corrupt practices. In a national effort, the ministry has ordered the blacklisting of drug companies involved in bribery. The companies that are blacklisted will not be patronized by any medical institution, for a period of two years.

The list would include companies that have been scrutinized by the Communist Party's inspection departments, and have been ticked-off for offering bribes. Companies which have been dealt with severely in the past, by the food and drug supervision department, or by the industrial and commercial department, or financial department, will also be included in the black list.

As per the new rules, people or institutions could come forward to report illegal deals between drug producers and medical institutions, so that quick investigations could be conducted.

The Chinese government will take strict action against drug companies offering bribe, to curry favor for medical contracts, or Doctors, who may even stand to lose their license if they received kickbacks for recommending expensive treatments to patients.

Source-Medindia
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