Drug Bribes in The Pharmerging Countries: U.S. Foreign Bribery Penalties for Drugmakers May Need To Be Increased By Pharmerging Bribe Lawyer Jason S. Coomer

Pharmaceutical World Sales Increase to Over $880 Billion Per Year Including Large Sales Increases in the "Pharmerging Countries" by Pharmerging Bribe Lawyer Jason Coomer

Every year over $4.1 trillion (US dollars) is spent worldwide on health services including approximately $850 billion (US dollars) that is spent in the pharmaceutical market on drugs and medications.  In 2011, it is estimated that global pharmaceutical sales are expected to grow by 5% to 7% to around $880 billion.  This growth in sales is led by the 17 so-called "pharmerging countries," which include China, Brazil, Russia, India, Venezuela, Poland and the Ukraine.  These "pharmerging countries", are forecast to see their pharmaceutical spending grow at a 15% to 17% rate in 2011, to between $170 billion and $180 billion overall.

Eight pharmerging countries are amongst the top 20 world pharmaceutical markets, and China is one of the “top three” or will be in the near future.  A few high-profile pharmaceutical companies have been successful in gaining a foothold in these pharmering countries.  These footholds include Abbott’s acquisition of Piramal Healthcare in India — a deal that could potentially make the US giant the top player in this country.  Bayer's and Novartis' investments in China including Novartis'  commitment to invest $1 billion USD in R&D in China and its $125 million USD investment to buy 85 percent stake in a privately held vaccine company.  Pfizer has made inroads into the Russian health care system with a discount-card system in Russia  Sanofi Aventis has purchased Medley, Brazil’s third-largest pharmaceutical company.  GSK and Lilly have also announced anticipated doubling their revenue in emerging markets by 2015.

It is estimated that approximately 10 to 25% of public health care procurement spending including drug contracts, medicines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and medical devices is lost to corrupt and fraudulent acts including adulterated drugs.  As such, there is an international movement to reward pharmaceutical professionals and health care professionals that expose fraudulent and corrupt practices that cost hundreds of billions of dollars and cost lives.  This international movement includes SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Whistleblower Reward Lawsuits and traditional Qui Tam False Claims Act Whistleblower Reward Lawsuits.  

Analysis: U.S. foreign bribery penalties for drugmakers may lack bite | Reuters


"Federal authorities have cast a wide net to weed out suspected gift-giving and kickbacks to foreign doctors and government officials to gain a foothold in burgeoning new markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America."

"At least eight of the world's top 10 drugmakers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Pfizer Inc and Johnson &, have disclosed U.S. probes under the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Pfizer agreed to pay $60 million this year to settle FCPA charges and J&J reached a $70 million settlement last year. Pfizer is on track to record $10 billion in sales from emerging markets this year, while J&J said Brazil, Russia, India and China accounted for just under 10 percent of the $65 billion in sales it reported last year."

"With so much at stake outside of established markets in the United States and Europe, some experts say fines like these are hardly a deterrent."

"The $60 million fine for Pfizer to a lay person sounds like quite a bit of money, but in perspective it took less than two days of Lipitor sales during its peak. It's really just chump change for them," said Michael Leibfried, a senior analyst with market research consulting firm GlobalData. The cholesterol pill at its height was a $13 billion a year cash cow for Pfizer."


For more information on this topic, please feel free to contact Pharmerging Bribe Lawyer, Jason S. Coomer.