China's Ministry of Health has recently ordered for the
blacklisting of drug companies involve in bribery, as part of the
national efforts to crack down on commercial bribery.
The blacklist will be composed by provincial health authorities
and posted on their websites. Medical institutions shall be
forbidden to buy any drugs or medical equipments from the listed
companies in two years, according to a circular issued by the
ministry.
Companies that have convicted of bribery by judicial courts
would be blacklisted, said the circular.
Companies that were once investigated by the Communist Party's
discipline inspection departments and got punishment for offering
bribes would be taken into the list, it said.
The list would also include companies that were once penalized
by the industrial and commercial department, financial department,
or food and drug supervision department for bribery, it said.
The new rules encourages any individual and institutions to
report illegal deals between drug producers and medical
institutions to health authorities, which should respond with
immediate investigation.
It ordered health departments to confiscate all illegal benefits
offered to drug purchasers and doctors in medical institutions and
give them severe punishment. Doctors might see their licenses
revoked for taking bribes.
In China, some companies and individuals offered commissions to
health officials and staff to secure contracts for substandard
drugs and medical equipments, resulting in many medical
accidents.
Some doctors prescribed expensive drugs for which they received
kickbacks and caused public complaints and distrust of
hospitals.
The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) announced in April
last year it was to blacklist companies involved in illicit
deals.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)