US Justice Dept investigating bribery by drug majors, says WSJ

Carrying through on a previous warning, the US Justice Department is investigating ways that leading pharmaceutical companies could be paying bribes overseas to boost sales and speed approvals, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

As reported earlier this year by the UK’s Financial Times, big drugmakers - including Merck & Co, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline - in recent months have disclosed they are being investigated by the Securities Exchange Commission and the DoJ for possible violations of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that makes it illegal for companies whose stock is traded in the USA to bribe government officials in other countries to get business (The Pharma Letter August 13).

The investigation is targeting transactions in Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.