Zantac Lawsuit


Researching drug company and regulatory malfeasance for over 16 years
Humanist, humorist

Monday, June 30, 2014

Glaxo - The Sex Tape Scandal





Hey, sex is a natural thing for most of us [depending, of course on the pharmaceutical drugs we take]. When I was on Seroxat the 'wolf was kept from the door', a side-effect I wasn't warned about - did wonders for my ego but left me sexually frustrated at the same time.

Oooh er, Mr Fiddaman... don't be so course!

The bribery allegations in China have taken a rather bizarre twist this weekend. GSK's Mark Reilly, who was arrested on charges of ordering employees to form a massive bribery network, has, it appears, been the subject of a GSK internal investigation before he was outed as the brains behind a massive bribery scam in China.

The Sunday Times is reporting that Reilly was the subject of a secretly-filmed sex tape sent to GSK executives shortly before Chinese officials opened its investigation into alleged bribery of doctors.

The video, writes the Sunday Times, was sent anonymously by email to several senior GSK executives, including chief executive Sir Andrew Witty, in March 2013 along with allegations that the company was paying kickbacks to doctors and officials for using GSK drugs, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Telegraph claims that the anonymous email was an attempt to bribe GSK so, writes The Telegraph, "GSK authorised Mr Reilly to spend an initial £20,000 of the company’s money on hiring a private investigator, Peter Humphrey, to discover the perpetrators of the sting, believed to be part of wider attempts to expose the drugs giant to punitive action by Chinese authorities."

Humphrey’s report, code-named “Project Scorpion”,did not find who allegedly planted the camera in Reilly’s bedroom but his snooping around led to Chinese authorities launching a probe into GSK corruption just a few months later.

Humphrey [pictured below] and his business partner-wife, Yu Yingzeng allegedly illegally trafficked a huge amount of personal information on Chinese citizens to seek profits via registering so-called research companies in Hong Kong and Shanghai since 2003.



Humphrey and Yu run the Hong Kong-registered, ChinaWhys Co, a business risk advisory firm, and have, in the past, worked for GlaxoSmithKline.

Ironically Humphrey lists his successes as neutralizing a counterfeit-and-fraud syndicate that hijacked the business of a global consumer goods manufacturer, eliminating fraud from the buying operation of a leading megastore chain and uncovering fraudulent JV deals for a global appliances manufacturer.


I have to say that I feel kinda sorry for Mark Reilly here...I mean who would want Andrew Witty watching them have sex!

Reilly, if found guilty of forming a massive bribery network, faces up to 10 years in prison.

The sex-tape scandal has broke at a convenient time, for me at least.

Last week I met with GSK whistleblower Blair Hamrick. We sat and chatted over dinner and he told me how Glaxo promoted an antidepressant [Wellbutrin] off label for use in people with [ahem] sexual problems.

Glaxo marketing came up with the line the "happy-horny-skinny pill" so reps could convince doctors to prescribe it to patients who were overweight and also those who were experiencing a low sex drive [decreased libido]

This has left me pondering if Reilly ever took it.

Hey, wouldn't it be amusing if there was a box of Wellbutrin on Reilly's bedside cabinet and it appeared in the video sent to Witty and co?

Chinese authorities could throw a product placement charge at them too :-)

I also wonder if Witty ordered in popcorn for the premiere of Romping Reilly.

Bob Fiddaman.




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