By Adam Jourdan
SHANGHAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Chinese insulin maker Gan &Lee Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday it was investigatingallegations published in a newspaper that it spent around 800million yuan ($130.72 million) to bribe doctors to promote thefirm's drugs over five years.
A sales representative for the privately held company,identified by the pseudonym Wu Dejiang, told China's 21stCentury Business Herald the bribes were aimed at raising salesahead of a planned initial public offering in Shanghai.
"From 2008 until now the amount of bribery involved isprobably around 800 million yuan, and close to 300 million yuanin 2012 alone ... Gan & Lee has been very skillful with theirbribes," the whistleblower told the newspaper.
Gan & Lee is the latest drugmaker to face whistlebloweraccusations in the newspaper, although it is the first Chinesefirm to be accused of wrongdoing.
The reports coincide with multiple Chinese investigationsinto the pharmaceutical sector, spanning alleged corruption tohow drugs are priced.
An official at Beijing-based Gan & Lee told Reuters bytelephone the company was looking into the allegations. She saidthe firm would then issue a statement. The official declined tocomment further or give her name.
Gan & Lee is on a list of companies seeking IPO approvalfrom the China Securities Regulatory Commission, according tothe agency's website. The newspaper said Gan & Lee began theapplication process in June.
"Because Gan & Lee is striving to list, it took a ruthlessapproach to performance and didn't hesitate to offer businessbribes in return for increased sales," the whistleblower said.
Gan & Lee's website said its sales have been climbingquickly, reaching 540 million yuan in 2012. It gave no figuresfor 2011. The website also said the firm employed 1,100 people.
The most high-profile investigation into corruption in thepharmaceutical sector in China involves British drugmakerGlaxoSmithKline.
Police have detained four Chinese executives from GSK overallegations it funneled up to 3 billion yuan to travel agenciesto facilitate bribes to doctors to boost the sale of itsmedicines. GSK has said some of its senior Chinese executivesappear to have broken the law.
Corruption in China's pharmaceutical industry is widespread,fuelled in part by low base salaries for doctors at thecountry's 13,500 public hospitals.
Whistleblowers have made a beeline for the 21st CenturyBusiness Herald.
Last month U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co said itwas "deeply concerned" after the newspaper quoted an unnamedwhistleblower saying it spent more than 30 million yuan to bribedoctors in China.
The paper also quoted a whistleblower in August as sayingSwiss drugmaker Novartis AG had paid bribes to doctorsto boost drug sales, prompting the Swiss company to launch aninternal investigation.
Health Ministry officials are also investigating Sanofi SA over bribery allegations after the same newspaper saidstaff paid bribes totaling about 1.7 million yuan to more than500 doctors in late 2007 to boost sales. The French company hassaid it is taking the claims "very seriously".
The newspaper has declined a request from Reuters for aninterview on why whistleblowers keep speaking to it.
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)