Italy police probe 4,400 doctors

May 27, 2004

Thursday, 27 May, 2004, 15:52 GMT 16:52 UK

Italian police are investigating 4,400 doctors over allegations of an

illegal incentives scheme involving UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline,

officials say.

The doctors are said to have been offered cash and other incentives in a

228m euro (£152m) scheme to boost their use of Glaxo products.

Around 300 Glaxo employees in Italy are also under investigation, police say.

A Glaxo spokesman said the firm had co-operated fully with the inquiry and

denied bribery and corruption.

'Holidays'

Police said that after a two-year investigation they found that Glaxo had

spent the 228m euros on the alleged scheme between 1999 and 2002.

They say incentives offered to doctors included holidays, cash or free

pharmaceutical drugs and personal computers.

<< " GSK is committed to ensuring all of its business practices are of the

highest possible standards and any breach of these is unacceptable " >>

- Glaxo spokesman

The Italian Justice Ministry is to decide whether to press charges against

the suspects after considering the report by the financial investigators.

Domenico Cuzzocrea, of the Venice tax police, told the Associated Press:

" Glaxo put this mechanism in place to sell as many medicines as possible.

" The investigation shows that this system was rooted and diffused

throughout the country. "

A Glaxo spokesman said the firm had been co-operating closely with the

authorities.

" This co-operation has been acknowledged by the investigating authority, "

he told Reuters.

" GSK is committed to ensuring all of its business practices are of the

highest possible standards and any breach of these is unacceptable. "

Glaxo, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, makes the

HIV/Aids medicine Combivir, the asthma drug Seretide and the diabetes

treatment Avandia/Avandamet.

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