SHANGHAI — Danone’s advanced medical nutrition unit, Nutricia, has started an internal investigation after a Chinese newspaper published a report alleging it had bribed more than 100 doctors in Beijing to increase sales, the company said on Wednesday.
It was the third time in two weeks that a division of Danone, the French food company, has had to respond to accusations of bribery by the Chinese media, after its infant milk formula group, Dumex, was twice the subject of bribery allegations reported by Chinese state television.
China is a magnet for foreign milk powder makers, with a $12.4 billion market that is expected to double by 2017.
But foreign companies are under scrutiny after recent media reports alleging corrupt sales practices in the industry.
Authorities last month also fined a group of mostly foreign milk powder producers $110 million for price fixing.
Nutricia, which makes Karicare milk formula, bribed doctors at 14 hospitals in the Chinese capital with kickbacks, gifts, funded travel and complimentary show tickets between 2010 and 2013, the 21st Century Business Herald said on Wednesday, citing an unnamed whistle-blower who claimed to be a student doctor.
“We only saw the report this morning, so we’ve only just started an internal investigation into the matter,” Zhao Qinghua, a spokeswoman for Nutricia in China, said.
“At the moment we still don’t know the details,” she added.
Nutricia, which makes Karicare milk formula, bribed doctors at 14 hospitals in the Chinese capital with kickbacks, gifts, funded travel and complimentary show tickets between 2010 and 2013, the 21st Century Business Herald said on Wednesday, citing an unnamed whistle-blower who claimed to be a student doctor.
“We only saw the report this morning, so we’ve only just started an internal investigation into the matter,” Zhao Qinghua, a spokeswoman for Nutricia in China, said.
“At the moment we still don’t know the details,” she added.
“We need to wait to see the outcome of the investigation before we can make our next plans.”
Corruption in China’s pharmaceutical industry remains widespread, fueled in part by low base salaries for doctors at the country’s 13,500 public hospitals.
Recent salvos against international milk powder companies — allegations of widespread corruption, pricing probes and strong official reaction to a food scare at the New Zealand dairy producer Fonterra Co-operative Group — suggest global formula makers may face a more competitive playing field, analysts said.
Corruption in China’s pharmaceutical industry remains widespread, fueled in part by low base salaries for doctors at the country’s 13,500 public hospitals.
Recent salvos against international milk powder companies — allegations of widespread corruption, pricing probes and strong official reaction to a food scare at the New Zealand dairy producer Fonterra Co-operative Group — suggest global formula makers may face a more competitive playing field, analysts said.
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