Dive Brief:
- GlaxoSmithKline is facing new bribery allegations in Syria. Company executives received an email last week alleging GSK bribed Syrian doctors to prescribe its products.
- GSK is one of the only major firms still doing business in Syria. As The Guardian reports, the company already faced charges of corruption in its non-prescription drug business in the country.
- The British pharma giant has been accused of bribery and assorted malfeasance in at least five countries other than Syria, including China, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Poland.
Dive Insight:
The good news for GSK in Syria is that the recent charges only allege thousands of dollars in bribery, rather than the millions the company purportedly spent on bankrolling Chinese doctors. GSK executives were quick to admonish any potential wrongdoing done by company employees. "We have zero tolerance for any kind of unethical behaviour and we welcome people speaking up if they have concerns about alleged misconduct," said one GSK spokesperson of the allegations.
GSK is being investigated by both U.S. and European authorities for its international business practices. On Monday, BioPharma Dive reported on the latest chapter in the company's misadventures in China, where it has been accused of paying doctors up to $1,680 in travel expense to prescribe certain products. Peter Humphrey, a British investigator hired by GSK, was jailed by Chinese authorities alongside his American wife for ostensibly procuring and selling private data on Chinese citizens.