Public scrutiny of unfair competition in the pharmaceutical industry

The Law Against Unfair Competition, being the only law that currently expressly specifies that an entity engaging in commercial bribery is liable for damages for civil tort, is of great significance. The various ills and corrupt practices that plague the pharmaceutical industry put a serious crimp on the progress and pace of medical reform. The widespread occurrence of such unfair competition practices as the paying of commissions to physicians to prescribe certain drugs, false advertising and publicity, abuse of power in carrying on operations, etc., make the application of the law to establish, implement and improve a public scrutiny mechanism particularly important.

The author will address the unfair competition practice of paying physicians a commission to prescribe certain drugs and explore how the pharmaceutical industry should fully utilise current laws to implement and improve a public scrutiny mechanism, while leaving the other two types of unfair competition practices mentioned above for discussion at a later date.

Q: The unfair competition practice of paying commissions to physicians to prescribe certain drugs harms the interests of what entities? What legal liability should be borne?

A: Article 8 of the Law Against Unfair Competition prohibits the unfair competition practice of commercial bribery. Paying commissions to physicians to prescribe certain drugs is an example of commercial bribery.