Italy police probe 4,400 doctors

The UK-based firm is one of the world's largest drugs companies

Italian police are investigating 4,400 doctors over allegations of an illegal incentives scheme involving UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, officials say.

The doctors are said to have been offered cash and other incentives in a 228m euro (£152m) scheme to boost their use of Glaxo products.

Around 300 Glaxo employees in Italy are also under investigation, police say.

A Glaxo spokesman said the firm had co-operated fully with the inquiry and denied bribery and corruption.

'Holidays'

Police said that after a two-year investigation they found that Glaxo had spent the 228m euros on the alleged scheme between 1999 and 2002.

They say incentives offered to doctors included holidays, cash or free pharmaceutical drugs and personal computers.

GSK is committed to ensuring all of its business practices are of the highest possible standards and any breach of these is unacceptable Glaxo spokesman

The Italian Justice Ministry is to decide whether to press charges against the suspects after considering the report by the financial investigators.

Domenico Cuzzocrea, of the Venice tax police, told the Associated Press: "Glaxo put this mechanism in place to sell as many medicines as possible.

"The investigation shows that this system was rooted and diffused throughout the country."

A Glaxo spokesman said the firm had been co-operating closely with the authorities.

"This co-operation has been acknowledged by the investigating authority," he told Reuters.

"GSK is committed to ensuring all of its business practices are of the highest possible standards and any breach of these is unacceptable."

Glaxo, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, makes the HIV/Aids medicine Combivir, the asthma drug Seretide and the diabetes treatment Avandia/Avandamet.