China widens probe into Sanofi over hospital bribes
The mainland's investigation of Sanofi has intensified, with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province launching probes of the French drug giant. The mainland's investigation of Sanofi has intensified, with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province launching probes of the French drug giant.
The mainland's investigation of Sanofi has intensified, with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province launching probes of the French drug giant.
Although the authorities have probed other international drug firms, Sanofi is the second after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to be investigated to a significant degree on the mainland.
Shares in Sanofi fell 1.24 per cent in Paris yesterday.
The Shanghai and Beijing city governments and Guangdong authorities had begun investigating allegations by an anonymous whistle-blower that Sanofi bribed 79 hospitals in those and other cities in 2007, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The Shanghai government ordered all health institutions in the city to check allegations that Sanofi, under the cover of research expenses, had given 625,000 yuan (HK$786,000) of bribes to 128 doctors in 24 hospitals in the city, it reported.
Guangdong's health department on Friday met representatives of 16 hospitals in the province to organise a probe into allegations that Sanofi bribed their officials, Xinhua quoted Guangdong media as saying.