Western drug companies are stepping up efforts to tackle corruption in China and work with the authorities to remove its causes, in the wake of damaging probes launched against the industry over the summer.
An internal memo jointly prepared by RDPAC, the trade body for foreign pharmaceutical businesses in China, and PhRMA, the association of US drug companies, recognises corruption as a “systemic challenge” in the country’s healthcare system.
The document, which has been seen by the Financial Times, says it expects its members to follow the highest ethical standards and stresses that any “inappropriate behaviour” by companies outside its codes of conduct should be “dealt with swiftly”.