While its closest rival AstraZeneca (AZN) has dominated recent headlines, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reclaimed the spotlight. Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a criminal inquiry into the company's sales practices after weeks of similar accusations of misconduct in China, Poland and Iraq.
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The Chinese authorities recently handed over findings from a 10-month long investigation, concluding that GSK earned scores of "illegal" revenues by bribing hospitals, doctors and government officials to buy its medicines. The motivation for the British investigation is unclear, as is its relation to the Chinese inquiry, but GSK said it would co-operate.
