GlaxoSmithKline has
denied that it has a systemic problem with corruption after fresh
bribery allegations against the company emerged in Poland.
The UK drugmaker
said it had disciplined an employee in connection with claims that it
bribed Polish doctors to promote its asthma drug Seretide.
This followed the
revelation last week that GSK was investigating alleged
improper practices in Iraq and nine months after Chinese
authorities launched a bribery
probe against the company.
The Polish case,
highlighted by the BBC’s Panorama programme on Monday,
shows how GSK has become a lightning rod for scrutiny of illicit
practices in the drugs industry since it was accused of
funnelling $500m to Chinese doctors and officials.
GSK said it took all
such cases seriously but insisted they did not represent a pattern of
wrongdoing.
It said the Polish
case dated back to 2011 and involved an individual regional sales
manager who had since been “reprimanded and disciplined”.
According to
Panorama, 11 doctors and one GSK
manager have been charged by Poland’s anti-corruption agency over
alleged bribery between 2010 and 2012.
Jamie Cartwright, a
lawyer at Charles Russell, a law firm, said 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.
“In Iraq and maybe
even China there is perhaps a recognition of the difficult local
conditions, but in Poland a company would be expected to uphold the
same standards as in any other EU country,” said Mr Cartwright.
In the BBC
documentary, Jarek Wisniewski, a former GSK sales representative in
the Polish region of Lodz, is quoted as saying: “There is a simple
equation . . . we pay doctors, they give us prescriptions. We
don’t pay doctors, we don’t see prescriptions for our drugs.
“We cannot go to
doctors and say to them, ‘I need 20 more prescriptions’. So we
prepare an agreement for them to give a talk to patients, we pay
£100, but we expect more than 100 prescriptions for this drug. It’s
a bribe,” Mr Wisniewski adds.
GSK said on Monday
it had found “evidence of inappropriate communication in
contravention of GSK policy by a single employee”.
“We continue to
investigate these matters and are co-operating fully with [Polish
authorities].”
In its latest annual
report, GSK revealed that 161 violations of sales and marketing
practices were reported in 2013, with 48 people leaving the company
as a result.
This is similar to
other drugmakers, including AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish company,
which reported 149 such cases, and Roche of Switzerland, which
declared 136.
GSK last December
announced an overhaul
of its marketing operations to remove individual sales targets
from its representatives and to stop paying doctors to attend medical
conferences and make speeches on the company’s behalf.
On Monday the
company said: “We agree there is a need to modernise interactions
between the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare professionals to
ensure patients’ interests are always put first and to eliminate
even a perception of a conflict of interest.”
5W1H
- What
GSK denies systemic
corruption problem after fresh allegations
- Who
Glaxo Smith Kline,
Polish doctors, Chinese doctors and official, Polish authorities
- When
2010 – 2012
- Where
In Polandia
- Why
The UK drugmaker
said it had disciplined an employee in connection with claims that it
bribed Polish doctors to promote its asthma drug Seretide.
This followed the
revelation last week that GSK was investigating alleged
improper practices in Iraq and nine months after Chinese
authorities launched a bribery
probe against the company.
- How
GSK said it took all
such cases seriously but insisted they did not represent a pattern of
wrongdoing.
GSK announced an
overhaul
of its marketing operations to remove individual sales targets
from its representatives and to stop paying doctors to attend medical
conferences and make speeches on the company’s behalf.
