Beijing pharma firms suspended in bribery crackdown

Twenty-one pharmaceutical companies from Beijing were hit with two-year suspensions for bribery following a crackdown by the city's health bureau, the Beijing Times reported. Many companies in the sector agreed the campaign would  improve market conditions, though some of those blacklisted argued the campaign was unfair as nearly every pharmaceutical firm committed bribery. "We have to [give bribes], otherwise we cannot survive in this market," said the owner of Beijing Fuji Pharmaceutical Instruments Company, one of the blacklisted companies.