BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-eight foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies have agreed on a new regulation that requires transparent and fair sales activities in China.

The move is in line with the country's crack-down on commercial bribery in the health sector, said Shu De, director of the medical division of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.

Shu, at a forum in Beijing on cracking down on commercial bribery in medical fields, said the regulation encourages more transparent sales activities and thus helps create a fair market for all firms.

Foreign pharmaceutical giants including Pfizer, Novartis and Roche agreed not to offer bribes and ask doctors to change prescriptions in order to win more contracts.

The companies also agreed not to offer medical staff free overseas travel as well as rewards.

Li Xi, a senior official with the Ministry of Health, said that from August last year to July this year, China tackled more than 790 commercial bribery cases in its health sector involving 57 million yuan (7.2 million U.S. dollars).

Pharmaceutical firms often offer bribes to doctors or hospital officials to ensure the sale of their medicines.

Such corruption is partly blamed for China's many over-priced medicines, which are often out of the reach of poor people. Enditem