Pharma Bribery Corrupts Health Care, Puts Patients at Risk, New Review Warns

In Greece, Novartis Hellas paid for physicians to attend international medical congresses and warned it would withdraw support if prescription quotas for its drugs were not met.

The subsidiary admitted misconduct in 2020 and agreed to pay $225 million in criminal penalties under a deferred prosecution agreement, as parent company Novartis AG entered a series of settlements with U.S. enforcement agencies to resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations abroad. Previously, in 2016, Novartis paid $25 million to resolve SEC civil charges over bribery in China, without admitting or denying the findings, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Meanwhile, Pfizer subsidiaries in multiple countries, including Italy and Russia, were accused by the SEC in 2012 of paying bribes over about a decade to foreign officials to secure regulatory and formulary approvals, boost sales, and increase prescriptions, the SEC complaint shows. In China, one subsidiary allegedly created “points programs” that let doctors earn gifts based on prescribing its medications, according to the SEC, while in Croatia, another offered a “bonus program” that reportedly rewarded doctors with cash, international travel, or free products.