Every year over $4.1 trillion (US dollars) is spent worldwide on health services including approximately $750 billion (US dollars) that is spent in the pharmaceutical market on drugs and medications. It is estimated that approximately 10 to 25% of public health care procurement spending including drug contracts, medicines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and medical devices is lost to corrupt and fraudulent acts.  These acts include government official bribes, illegal kickbacks, and other illicit payment and fraud schemes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the term "medicines chain" to be the steps that are required for the creation, regulation, management and consumption of pharmaceuticals.  In other words it is the medication supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry from creation to end user. According to the World Health Organization, corruption is common in the international pharmaceutical sector and occurs throughout all stages of the medicines supply chain, from research and development to dispensing and promotion.  These unethical and corrupt practices in the medicines supply chain can take many forms such as falsification of evidence, false certification of adulterated drugs, import false certifications, export false certifications, conflicts of interest, and illegal bribe and kickback schemes. 

As such, the World Health Organization and many other international public health organizations are seeking public policy changes under the umbrella of good governance initiatives within the medicines chain to reduce government corruption and optimize public health outcomes.  Some proposed public policy changes that can help reduce corruption and fraud in the pharmaceutical medicines chain include: 1) protection of international medicines supply chain whistleblowers; 2) offering financial incentives to international medicines chain whistleblowers; 3) passage of legislation and regulation for drug quality control and official certifications to monitor the transport of medications including the export and import of medicines throughout world and along international medicines supply chains; 4) increased enforcement mechanisms for violations of existing pharmaceutical laws and regulations; and 5) increased resources for conflict of interest management and checks to ensure key people in the medicines chain are not accepting illegal bribes, kickbacks, and other illicit payments.

In response to these good governance initiatives, the international community including the United States, United Kingdom, and many other countries have enacted new anti-bribery and anti corruption laws that will enable persons with knowledge of international medicines supply chain fraud and corruption to expose the illegal acts and reap rewards from blowing the whistle, while being protected from potential retaliation from the wrong doers.

While there are an increasing number of reported cases of corruption in the medicines chain, much unethical practice has historically gone unreported.  This is changing as new whistleblower protections and whistleblower financial incentives are coming into place to help overcome  institutionalized corruption in the pharmaceutical medicines chain and to provide protection for courageous whistleblowers that want to change the institutionalized corruption that is damaging their countries.

Because medicines typically change hands several times in the medicines chain between the drug manufacturer and patients, the large number of steps in the medicines chain allows numerous opportunities for unethical practices to take place.  Therefore increased regulations and laws throughout the medicines chain including manufacturing quality assurances, export regulations and inspections, import regulations and inspections, health care provider regulations and inventory policies, and patient protections are needed.  Fortunately, the new international whistleblower laws will allow international whistleblowers with specialized knowledge of the corruption to blow the whistle on fraud, false certifications, and illicit payments that are occurring throughout the medicines chain.    

A lack of transparency and accountability within the medicines chain can also contribute to unethical practices and corruption.  Therefore increased enforcement mechanisms are needed for violations of existing pharmaceutical laws and regulations.  These enforcement mechanisms include "SEC Bounty Actions" that allow private citizens to work through international medicines supply chain whistleblower reward lawyers to expose significant fraud and obtain large bounties for successful prosecution of pharmaceutical illicit payment schemes.  Ideally, these international medicines supply chain whistleblower reward actions will track fraud and corruption to the root causes and help reform corporate corruption of public health care systems.  Through international pharmaceutical representative whistleblowers, international drug executive whistleblowers, foreign government official whistleblowers, health care provider whistleblowers, and other medicines supply chain whistleblowers, the international community can efficiently identify, expose, and remedy medicines chain corruption.

Foreign Corporation Illegal Bribe Whistleblower Lawsuit, Domestic Corporation Illegal Kickback Lawsuit, Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Whistleblower Lawsuit,  FCPA SEC  Whistleblower Lawsuit, SEC Whistleblower Incentive Program Lawsuit, & Illegal Corporate Bribe Bounty Lawsuit Information

Corporations that pay illegal kickbacks and bribes to government officials and former government officials in exchange for contracts including health care procurements (medication procurements, medical equipment procurements, drug procurements, medicine procurements, medical device procurements, and pharmaceutical procurements) can be brought to justice and made to pay large penalties under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and whistleblowers that bring these corporations to justice may be able to collect large economic rewards under the  Securities Exchange Act (SEC Whistleblower Bounty Actions).

The International Medicine Procurement Illegal Bribe Whistleblower or Public Health System Procurement Illegal Kickback Whistleblower may be entitled to not only the amount of the illegal bribe or kickback, but the benefit of the illegal bribe or kickback.  In cases where $100,000.00 bribe is made to obtain a $900 million procurement project, the Illegal Bribe Whistleblower or Illegal Kickback Whistleblower may be entitled to 10 to 30% of the $900,000,000.00 and the $100,000.00 translating into a $90 million to $270 million award.

International Business Illegal Bribery Whistleblower Lawsuit, Business Illegal Kickback Whistleblower Lawsuit, Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Whistleblower Recovery Lawsuit,  FCPA Whistleblower Recovery Lawsuit, SEC FCPA Whistleblower Incentive Program Lawsuit, & Illegal International Business Bribery Bounty Lawsuit Information

According to Bloomberg news, "Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the world’s second-biggest seller of medical products, will pay $70 million after admitting that the company bribed doctors in Europe and paid kickbacks in Iraq to win contracts and sell drugs and artificial joints." Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $70 Million Over Bribery Claims By Joshua Gallu and Alex Nussbaum - Apr 8, 2011 2:09 PM CT 

The SEC Complaint alleges that Johnson & Johnson through subsidiaries paid bribes to key health care provider decision makers including doctors and hospital administrators in several countries to win large contracts under the U.N. oil-for-food program. Further, the SEC alleged that Johnson & Johnson used slush funds, sham contracts and off-shore companies to carry out large bribes to key medical decision makers to secure large contracts and reward these decision makers for selecting Johnson & Johnson.

"The company agreed to pay $48.6 million in disgorgement and interest to settle the SEC’s claims and a $21.4 million fine to settle criminal charges filed by the Justice Department. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement with Justice, J&J admitted to the allegations and agreed to report on remediation and compliance measures every six months for three years." Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $70 Million Over Bribery Claims By Joshua Gallu and Alex Nussbaum - Apr 8, 2011 2:09 PM CT 

"In December 2008, Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering firm, agreed to pay $800 million to the U.S. and $814 million to German authorities to settle claims that units of the company paid bribes to win contracts from Iraq’s government in the U.N. oil-for-food program and for projects including commuter rail in Venezuela, mobile-phone networks in Bangladesh, power plants in Israel and traffic-control systems in Russia." Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $70 Million Over Bribery Claims By Joshua Gallu and Alex Nussbaum - Apr 8, 2011 2:09 PM CT 

"In November, Panalpina World Transport Holding Ltd., a Swiss freight-forwarding company, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and five oil-services firms agreed to pay $237 million to settle civil and criminal claims that they paid thousands of bribes to African, Asian and South American officials on behalf of customers in the oil and gas industry." Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $70 Million Over Bribery Claims By Joshua Gallu and Alex Nussbaum - Apr 8, 2011 2:09 PM CT 

"The SEC this year launched an inquiry into whether investment firms have made improper payments ranging from kickbacks to lavish gifts and entertainment to get business from sovereign wealth funds." Johnson & Johnson Will Pay $70 Million Over Bribery Claims By Joshua Gallu and Alex Nussbaum - Apr 8, 2011 2:09 PM CT 

International supply chain fraud whistleblowers, international pharmaceutical representative whistleblowers, international drug executive whistleblowers, foreign government official whistleblowers, health care provider whistleblowers, community activist whistleblowers, and other public health care procurement bribe whistleblowers with specialized knowledge of international procurement drug company bribes, international pharmaceutical illegal kickback schemes, and other illicit payments for procurement of drug, medical device, medication, pharmaceutical, and medical equipment contracts are needed to step forward and expose violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and illegal bribes.  These international medical supply chain whistleblowers are needed to protect public health care systems from overpayment of medications, medical devices, and medical equipment or payment for defective drugs, defective medical devices, or defective medical equipment. 

Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits, Drug Safety Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits, Adulterated Drug Whistleblower Lawsuits, Contaminated Drug Whistleblower Lawsuits, and Pharmaceutical Drug Calibration Fraud Whistleblower Lawsuits

As a result of corruption, fraud, and unethical practices in the medicines supply chain, many diverted, counterfeit and substandard medicines have been identified in international markets around the world.  Thus, these corruption, fraud, and unethical practices in the medicines supply chain not only lead to reduced availability of medicines in health facilities due to diversion of medicines, but also increase the presence of adulterated drugs and unsafe or ineffective products on the market.  As such, it is extremely important that international pharmaceutical whistleblowers including international medicine quality assurance whistleblowers, international pharmaceutical calibration fraud whistleblowers, and other medicines drug safety whistleblowers continue to step forward to blow the whistle on adulterated drugs that threaten the health and safety of the people taking medications.  Because of the serious potential danger to the public including men, women, and children that can be caused by giving contaminated medications or improperly calibrated medications, it is vitally important that whistleblowers help make sure that medicines are properly calibrated and not contaminated or counterfeited. 

The offer of large economic incentives to international contaminated medicines whistleblowers and international adulterated drug whistleblowers will help expose dangerous and counterfeit medicines in the medicines supply chain.