Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) is investigating an anonymous report that parties acting on its behalf bribed doctors in the Romanian health system to prescribe Teva's drugs.
Teva announced that it had begun an investigation in 2015 after receiving an anonymous e-mail complaint accusing the company of paying doctors for consultation and international travel expenses. For example, in order to make the payment appear legitimate, one of the bribed doctors was assigned to read a short PowerPoint presentation.
In return, the bribed doctors recommended Copaxone, Teva's flagship product, "for as many patients as possible," according to the complaint sent to company representatives.
Copaxone is the most commonly used drug in the world for multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone wasTeva's first branded drug and easily its largest in terms of revenue and contribution to net profit. The drug, which is injected daily, has been approved for marketing in over 50 countries.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 8, 2016
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