Pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced last week that it is under investigation by Chinese authorities over potential violations of unfair competition, becoming the latest foreign drug maker to be targeted by Chinese officials.

China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC)—the agency in charge of market supervision and regulation—reportedly contacted a Bayer office in China relating to an investigation into anti-trust offenses, the company said in a statement.

The probe appears to be part of a wider effort by Chinese authorities to crack down on anti-competition practices in China. As Compliance Week previously reported, China's central economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), launched a probe in July into the production and distribution pricing practices at more than 60 domestic and foreign drug companies that operate in China. Among companies under investigation include Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca, and more. 

A special investigation team from the NDRC, whose price supervision and anti-monopoly bureau oversee the price-fixing provisions of China's anti-monopoly law, said it will make field visits from July to October.