Shanghai Squibb punished for bribing local doctor

The Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals has been punished for bribery — with more than 770,000 yuan (US$116,425) of illegal profits confiscated as well as a fine of 100,000 yuan.

The action was taken by the Yangpu District market watchdog for violation of China’s pharmaceutical administration law.

The firm, which sells medicine to Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai, was found to have paid 57,095 yuan to cover the return business class tickets to London for the director of cardiovascular medicine of the hospital, who attended a European Society of Cardiology event in August 2015, the Yangpu District Market Supervision and Management Bureau said.

At that time, the cardiovascular medicine section of the hospital bought six types of medicines, such as Fosinopril Sodium Tablets (Monopril), valued at 772,536 yuan in total, from the pharmaceutical firm, which was confiscated as illegal profits, the bureau said. 

The act violated the country’s pharmaceutical administration law, which bans pharmaceutical production and operation companies and their agents giving bribes to heads of medical treatment institutions, medicine purchasers and doctors, officials said.

The law stipulates that violators will face a fine of up to 200,000 yuan with all illegal profits confiscated. 

In more serious cases, business licenses will also be revoked, according to the law.

The firm, which was founded in 1982 and went into operation in 1985, is the first Sino-American joint venture pharmaceutical firm in China.

In 2014, the Chinese branch of British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was fined 3 billion yuan for bribery, the biggest fine imposed by a Chinese court.

Mark Reilly, a British national and former manager of GSK China, was sentenced to three years in jail with a four-year reprieve.

The former GSK China human resources director, former vice president and operations manager, former legal affairs director and former business development manager were given two to three-year sentences with reprieves.