Italians Link Glaxo to Illegal Doctor Gifts

[Guest guest]

Reply to Message 21, Below.

 

The Italians are objecting to the same things many Americans object to!

 

Maybe things have changed, but at times in the past gifts to Disc Jockeys

became known as " Payola " !

 

Newspaper Employees were hardly able to accept a Free Hamburger without

jeopardizing their job.

 

Does anyone know of another Group or profession that so shamelessly accepts

Payola as the Medics?

 

Also it is my impression that The AARP is controlled by one or a few persons

who pursuer their own agenda with no regard fro their members. Does anyone

know of a Seniors Group that listens to their members?

 

Also I am surprised to learn from some of my acquaintances; That they

believe the Insurance Companies are a major cause of the high cost of Drugs

in the USA. I believe it is the unwarranted million dollar awards to the

unfortunate victims of Medical Error. This situation has often been

described as a lottery.

 

Maybe some one could set up a poll as to how many blame Insurance or

HMO's as contrasted to how many blame the Attorneys and the Huge rewards

they reap.

 

Lorenzo

 

 

 

 

 

> Message: 21

Mon, 24 Feb 2003 01:51:32 -0800 (PST)

Frank <califpacific

Italians Link Glaxo to Illegal Doctor Gifts

 

 

http://consumeraffairs.com/news03/glaxo_italy.html

Italians Link Glaxo to Illegal Doctor Gifts

February 12, 2003

More bad news for GlaxoSmithKline, already the target of a campaign by

Canadian pharmacists and American seniors groups angered by the company's

attempts to stop Americans from buying its drugs at lower prices in Canada

(story).

 

Now the Italians are up in arms. The Finance Police in Veneto have charged

72 Italian doctors and Glaxo employees with bribery and corruption, charging

that Glaxo employees showered cash, gifts and trips on doctors to encourage

them to prescribemore Glaxo products.

 

Nearly 3,000 more doctors and glaxo employees are under investigation, The

Associated Press reported. Verona's general attorney, Antonino Condorelli,

is investigating more than 13,000 hours of tapped phone calls, flopy disks

and documents.

 

Italian news agencies said investigators are looking into allegations the

drug giant took doctors on junkets to Berlin, Sharm El Sheik, Damasco and,

during the running of the Grand Prix, Monte Carlo.

 

Gifts to the doctors included computers, medical apparatus and bottles of

expensive wine, investigators said. The legal limit for such gifts in Italy

is 25 euros (US$26).

 

Glaxo's Italian medical director, Giuseppe Recchia, said he had just learned

about the investigation. But police say their investigation indicates that

the company carefully tracked the gifts to see which ones led to increased

prescriptions.

 

Those charged could be sentenced to up to five years in jail. But Colonel

Giovani Mainolfi, commander of Veneto's tax police, said jail terms were

unlikely.

 

" For this type of crime, it doesn't even make sense to ask for imprisonment

.... it is just a matter of professional ethics, " Mainolfi was quoted as

saying. " The generally-held opinion is that these are just petty crimes, but

that's the way to get used to these bad habits. "

 

Glaxo is the world's second-largest pharamaceutical company. Its U.S.

headquarters are in Philadelphia and Research Trianble Park, N.C.

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I disagree with the colonel below. I think the doctors

should lose their license to practice for at least a year & the

people doing the bribing should do hard jail time. Not just the

employee offering the bribe, but the officials at the top as well.

Not just 10 days, or some other slap on the wrist. Such bribes is

(or should be) a felony.

 

Alobar

 

 

-

" Frank " <califpacific

<gettingwell >

Monday, February 24, 2003 3:51 AM

Italians Link Glaxo to Illegal Doctor Gifts

 

 

>

> http://consumeraffairs.com/news03/glaxo_italy.html

> Italians Link Glaxo to Illegal Doctor Gifts

> February 12, 2003

> More bad news for GlaxoSmithKline, already the target of a campaign

by Canadian pharmacists and American seniors groups angered by the

company's attempts to stop Americans from buying its drugs at lower

prices in Canada (story).

 

<snip>

 

> Those charged could be sentenced to up to five years in jail. But

Colonel Giovani Mainolfi, commander of Veneto's tax police, said jail

terms were unlikely.

>

> " For this type of crime, it doesn't even make sense to ask for

imprisonment ... it is just a matter of professional ethics, "

Mainolfi was quoted as saying. " The generally-held opinion is that

these are just petty crimes, but that's the way to get used to these

bad habits. "

[Guest guest]

Alobar wrote:

 

> Such bribes is

>(or should be) a felony.

>

>Alobar

>

 

I wish that someone would try to bribe me!

Morton