One Sick Business
Drugs in Indonesia are the most expensive in the world, partly due to collusion between drug companies and doctors. While the authorities claim they can’t find hard evidence, this investigation found several—and all authentic: money transfers and agreement forms in the hundreds of billions of rupiah.
April 3, 2001
Buyers are kings to peddlers. Doctors are gods to pharmaceutical companies. Gods that must be worshipped, not just with respect but also with offerings. According to many people in the pharmaceutical business, providing commissions, business trips abroad and luxury cars for modern healers are common business practices in Indonesia. "Without it, don’t ever dream of our drugs being prescribed by them," they say.
Dr. Iwan Darmansjah, a resp
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