GlaxoSmithKline is investigating allegations that its Chinese sales personnel inappropriately rewarded doctors for prescribing the company's Botox drug.

An anonymous tipster told Glaxo earlier this year that between 2004 and 2010, the company's sales staff in China had been giving doctors cash payments, educational credits, dinners and trips in return for prescribing Botox. According to the Wall Street Journal, internal Glaxo documents show that the company's local managers instructed salespeople to use their personal email addresses to discuss these marketing strategies. At least 16 members of the China sales staff were involved in the email discussions.

A Glaxo spokesperson told the Journal that the company's “inquiries to date have found no evidence of bribery or corruption in relation to our sales and marketing of therapeutic Botox in China.”

Stay tuned for more updates as the story develops.

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