NVS Novartis AG

By Nektaria Stamouli and Noemie Bisserbe 

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG has come under investigation in Greece on allegations that the Swiss group bribed officials and doctors to fix drug prices and boost its sales to public hospitals.

Greek prosecutors published a report Friday alleging that Novartis officials paid tens of millions of euros in bribes to doctors and politicians in order to fix the price for its drugs at artificially high prices. The report alleges that the illegal arrangement cost the Greek state billions of euros.

According to the prosecutors, the activity allegedly occurred between 2006 and 2015, covering the period during which Greece was bailed out and was living under tight scrutiny of its international creditors.

Deputy Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos described as "the biggest scandal since the establishment of the Greek state."

A Novartis spokesman said that "If any wrongdoing is found we will take fast and decisive action and do everything possible to prevent future misconduct." He added that the company has been cooperating with Greek authorities for more than a year.

Neither Novartis nor any of its current associates have been indicted, said the company, which is also conducting its own internal probe.

The Greek prosecutors have named 10 officials among those implicated in the scandal. They include two former prime ministers, Antonis Samaras and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, as well as the European Union's current migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos. All the officials denied any wrongdoing.

In October 2015, the Basel-based drug maker said it had agreed to pay $390 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department regarding claims that the company induced specialty pharmacies to boost prescriptions for Novartis drugs by paying kickbacks in the form of rebates.

Months later, it agreed to pay more than $25 million to the U.S. government to settle charges that it bribed healthcare professionals in China to boost sales.

In August 2016, prosecutors indicted a former chief executive of the South Korean unit of Novartis and five other former and current managers over allegations they illegally paid doctors 2.6 billion won ($2.4 million) in return for prescribing the company's drugs. Novartis said it was implementing a remediation plan in the country based on the findings of their own internal investigation.

The Greek prosecutors' case was submitted earlier this week to the Greek parliament, which will decide whether the politicians' immunity should be lifted in order for them to face prosecution.

Write to Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@wsj.com and Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 09, 2018 19:07 ET (00:07 GMT)

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