Sanofi in China

Now Sanofi is tangled up in trouble in China. The last few days have brought news of a wide-ranging investigation into payments to hospitals and medical workers, similar to what GlaxoSmithKline has been accused of. And I don't have much reason to doubt either story, because (as this BBC story details) payments of this sort are rife. I would also note that, according to the AP, the Chinese government "is investigating production costs at 60 Chinese and foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers, according to state media, possible as a prelude to revising state-imposed price caps on key medications." A system where everyone is in violation of the law has a lot of advantages - if you're the government. Retribution, when it's needed, is always at hand, because all you have to do is threaten to enforce what's already on the books. And lest someone think that I'm just beating away at the Chinese situation, the same applies to the US (on what I hope is a lower level). Here's economist Tyler Cowen, from the Marginal Revolution blog, on that very subject: Faced with the evidence of an non-intentional crime, most prosecutors, of course, would use their discretion and not threaten imprisonment. Evidence and discretion, however, are precisely the point. Today, no one is innocent and thus our freedom is maintained only by the high cost of evidence and the prosecutor’s discretion. The GSK and Sanofi allegations are, of course, all about intentional acts. But prosecuting them is very much ...
Source: In the Pipeline - Category: Chemists Tags: Business and Markets Source Type: blogs