Novartis’ FCPA Settlement and New Compliance Guidance

In late June, the DOJ and SEC announced that pharma company Novartis AG and its former subsidiary Alcon Pte Ltd had agreed to pay a combined $347 million to resolve allegations that they engaged in conspiracies to bribe public hospitals and clinics in Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea, much of it to increase prescriptions and sales of their macular degeneration drugs and intraocular lenses.