Bayer AG Comes Under Investigation In China

BEIJING (AP) — The pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG has become the latest foreign drug maker to come under scrutiny for its practices in China.

The German-based company said in a statement Friday that it is cooperating with Chinese authorities in the investigation of a potential case of unfair competition after officials visited a Bayer branch office in late August. Bayer did not provide further details of the case or say where the branch office was.

A wave of investigations has rattled foreign drug manufacturers in China. Authorities are probing whether British-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC and French rival Sanofi SA paid doctors to encourage the use of their medications.

Chinese media reports also say U.S.-based Eli Lilly and Co. spent millions of dollars on payments to Chinese doctors to prescribe its insulin products.

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