Singapore: In a bid to expand the pharma corruption investigations, Chinese officials have detained the former Sinopharm vice president following corruption charges

Targeting domestic drug makers now, China's crackdown on the pharma industry shifted gears when EU leaders slammed the country for targeting only foreign drug makers.

Authorities in Shanghai have detained a former vice president of China's biggest drug maker, Sinopharm, as part of a corruption probe.

A Bloomberg report stated that authorities had taken in Shi Jinming, a former vice president who resigned last month for personal reasons. Xu Yizhong, former general manager of a Sinopharm distribution unit, is also said to be involved.

The report pointed out that a whistleblower had accused the two of misappropriating company money and creating illegal personal accounts.
Chinese companies like Gan & Lee and Sino Biopharm were also probed by authorities late last year.

In December, Shanghai pharma, one of the country's largest drug companies, said it was investigating a whistleblower claim that one of its subsidiaries spent over $126,000 on bribes.

The country's authorities had announced earlier this year that it would blacklist all corrupt drug makers and the list would be made public soon.