Quick and dirty: How Big Pharma bribe doctors and pharmacists with shopping trips, sightseeing tours and family travel or choice wine treats
Some companies held “medical roundtables” and paid healthcare providers honoraria, sometimes routing funds through third-party journals (labelled as advertising) that were then funnelled to attendees or speakers. Because the events were billed as external meetings, they often bypassed internal compliance or due diligence controls.
Investigations show Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson paid $12.6 million in bribes to win drug approvals, government contracts
Johnson & Johnson voluntarily disclosed some of the violations and conducted an internal investigation. Without admitting or denying the allegations, the company agreed to pay more than $48 million to settle the case and $21.4 million to resolve parallel DOJ criminal charges, SEC records show.
