经济学人454:优秀文章:强生公司走出困境了吗?

 　　Business.

　　商业。

　　Johnson & Johnson.

　　强生公司。

　　Out of the mire¹?

　　走出困境了吗？

　　The Justice Department may spoil the drugmaker's fresh start.

　　司法部可能会毁了这家药厂的新开始。

　　FOR the past few years Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has stumbled clumsily through the legal and reputational swamps of contaminated pills and faulty fake hips². Under a new chief executive, it is supposed to be taking a confident stride onto firmer terrain³. On April 26th Alex Gorsky, a senior manager who joined the company as a salesman in 1988, was due to take charge. Yet the ground is still worryingly soft. America's Justice Department wants Mr Gorsky to testify about alleged⁴ fraud. J&J says he has nothing to do with the case.

　　过去几年，强生官司不断，毒药丸、假臀缺陷等丑闻频出，公司步履艰难。在新掌门的领导下，公司有望重拾信心，大踏步向更高的目标迈进。4月26日，1988年就进入强生从事销售工作的公司高管亚历克斯?高斯基走马上任。但令人担忧的是，公司境遇依然艰难。美国司法部想要高斯基先生为公司的欺诈指控作证。强生方面表示，高斯基先生与该案无关。

　　The government's request, made on April 11th, is the latest stage of a long dispute. The department's lawyers filed their suit in 2010, alleging⁵ that J&J made improper⁶ payments to boost prescriptions⁷ of its drugs. J&J can at least take solace⁸ in not being alone. The Justice Department has sued almost every big drug firm.

　　政府4月11日作出的请求不过是这场长期纠纷的最新进展。司法部律师于2010年提请诉讼，他们宣称，强生为了推销他们的药方进行了非正常的支付。令强生公司得到慰藉是至少它不是‘孤军奋战'，几乎所有的大药厂都受到过司法部的指控。

　　Most suits are brought under the False Claims Act, which since 1986 has encouraged citizens to sue firms that defraud⁹ the government. Whistleblowers are fortified¹⁰ not only by righteousness but also by a share of damages. They and the department have forged a model public-private partnership¹¹. Since 1986 the team has won more than $30 billion.

　　大多数诉讼的依据是1986年生效的《虚假申报法案》，该法案鼓励公民对那些欺骗政府的公司进行起诉。一些人踊跃揭露黑幕，一是出自正义，二是可以获得一份赔偿。他们和司法部共同打造了一个公私合伙的典范，1986年以来，这支队伍的收入超过了300亿美元。

　　Billions have been wrung¹² out of drugmakers. The firms have been charged with marketing¹³ drugs for unapproved uses, paying illegal kickbacks¹⁴ to raise sales, or both, cheating the public-health programmes that foot the bill. In the last quarter of 2011 Abbott said it had reserved $1.5 billion to pay penalties for its marketing practices, Amgen said it had reserved $780m for a similar purpose, and GlaxoSmithKline announced a staggering $3 billion agreement with the department.

　　制药厂被迫缴纳数十亿美元，他们被处罚的理由是未经批准销售药物，为扩大销售支付回扣，或者二者兼而有之，有的公司对支付患者医药费用的全民医疗保险项目进行欺瞒。2011年最后一季度，雅培表示，他们已为公司的营销行为准备了15亿美元的罚款。安进表示为同样的目的他们也保留了7.8亿美元，葛兰素史克宣布他们们与司法部之间达成了一个金额高达30亿美元的协议。

　　The department says that J&J's questionable¹⁵ antics took place between 1999 and 2004. It alleges¹⁶ that the company used rebates¹⁷, grants and other kickbacks to encourage Omnicare, a pharmacy¹⁸ for nursing homes, to recommend its drugs to patients. Prosecutors¹⁹ say that J&J continued to push sales of a drug even after warnings that it had not been properly studied in old people. On April 11th the government's lawyers asked a judge to compel Mr Gorsky, who oversaw²⁰ the implicated²¹ business at the time, to testify. If the judge agrees, J&J may find a settlement attractive.

　　司法部表示，强生的不轨行为发生在1999年至2004年间，他们称，强生使用返利、补贴等回扣方式鼓励一家专供养老院的药店“Omnicare”向患者推荐他们的药品。检查官说，在被告知尚不明确这些药物是否适用老年人的情况下，强生依然我行我素，继续推销他们的药品。4月11日，政府律师要求法官迫使当时负责相关业务的高斯基先生出庭作证。如果法官同意，强生可能会更希望庭外和解。

　　Such a deal would not be the last. Settlements show no sign of abating²², for two main reasons. First, whatever the merits of the case against J&J, it is not clear that companies are changing their ways. The benefits of aggressive marketing often outweigh²³ the cost of settlements. Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard University tracked sales of Neurontin, a drug approved for epilepsy but prescribed for much more. By 2004, when Pfizer paid $430m in penalties, annual sales had reached $2.7 billion.

　　这样的交易不会是最后一笔，问题的解决并不表明这种情况有所减少，这有两个主要原因，第一，不管这起针对强生的案件价值几何，我们都弄不清楚这些公司是否已改邪归正。积极的营销带来的利益常常超过解决争端的成本，哈佛大学的阿伦?凯泽尔海姆对批准为治疗癫痫、实际上用途更广的处方药“镇顽癫”进行了跟踪后发现，到2004年，辉瑞支付的罚款为4.3亿美元，而这种药每年销售已达27亿美元。

　　Second, there is ample appetite to sue. Barack Obama's health-care law included new measures to fight fraud. For every $1 spent in such cases, the Justice Department boasts it gets $7 in return. Whistleblowers keep coming forward: last year they tooted in record numbers. And states are getting fiercer: a judge in Arkansas recently ordered J&J to pay $1.1 billion for violating the state's version of the False Claims Act.

　　第二，上诉者往往会狮子大开口且乐此不彼，奥巴马的保健法为打击欺诈增添了新的内容。在类似案例中，每支出一美元，司法部就会得到7美元的回报。报料揭丑者前赴后继：去年，他们战果空前。各州也愈加猛烈，最近，因违反州颁发的《虚假申报法案》，阿肯色州的一位法官要求强生支付11亿美元。

　　Drug executives may find one penalty especially scary. In March Eric Holder²⁴, the attorney-general, said the Justice Department would go after people as well as companies. For example, they might be banned from business with any government health-care programme. In a country where spending on health is nearly 18% of the economy, that could finish some amply remunerated careers.

　　不过有一项处罚条款会让制药公司的老总们吓出一身冷汗。三月份艾立克?胡尔德总检查长表示，司法部将在处理此类案件时，不仅对公司，也会对当事人追查到底。例如，他们可能被禁与政府“公共健康计划”有关的所有业务。在一个健康支出占经济收入18%的国家，这可能会终结一些具有可观报酬的职业。

1 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

6 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

7 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

8 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

9 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

10 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 kickbacks   

n.激烈反应( kickback的名词复数 )；佣金，回扣

参考例句：

• Everyone at City Hall is receiving kickbacks. It's the only way to get anything done there. 市政府里的每个人都收回扣，在那里只有送红包，事情才办得成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• G raft or kickbacks paid to officials or law enforcem ent authorities. 暗中付给官员或执法人员的回扣。 来自互联网

15 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

16 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

17 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

18 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

19 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

20 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

21 implicated   

adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的

参考例句：

• These groups are very strongly implicated in the violence. 这些组织与这起暴力事件有着极大的关联。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Having the stolen goods in his possession implicated him in the robbery. 因藏有赃物使他涉有偷盗的嫌疑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

22 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

23 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

24 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。