Swiss pharma giant Novartis has agreed to pay $347 million to settle allegations of paying physicians overseas to use more of its products.
The accusations against the drugmaker allege it violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing physicians in Greece, Vietnam, South Korea and China. Novartis will pay $234 million to the Department of Justice and $113 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Novartis AG’s subsidiaries profited from bribes that induced medical professionals, hospitals, and clinics to prescribe Novartis-branded pharmaceuticals and use Alcon surgical products, and they falsified their books and records to conceal those bribes," DOJ Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a June 25 news release.