BEIJING - Drug companies that pay bribes could be barred from doing business with Chinese medical institutions under rules issued amid a corruption probe of a former top drug regulator and an uproar over deaths from faulty drugs.

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Doctors also might lose their licenses if they are caught taking bribes or kickbacks from drug companies, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday, citing a Health Ministry notice.

Chinese drug companies have been accused of bribing doctors, health officials and hospital staff to buy substandard drugs, leading to deaths and injuries.

The former director of the State Food and Drug Administration, Zheng Xiaoyu, is under investigation on charges that he took bribes to let drug companies circumvent approval procedures for new products.

Drugs improperly approved by the agency included Xinfu, an antibiotic that killed at least 10 patients last year before it was taken off the market, according to state media.

Penalties reported in earlier bribery cases have been fines or punishment of individual drug company employees.

Under the new rules, companies that are caught paying bribes could be barred from business with medical institutions for up to two years, according to Xinhua.

That could bankrupt a producer, because Chinese hospitals, clinics and other institutions account for a big share of drug purchases.

The blacklist would be posted on a Web site by each Chinese provincial government to alert local institutions, Xinhua said.

The ban would apply to drug companies penalized by industrial and commercial, financial or food and drug regulators.