Were they promoted?
Biovail Corp. says it's the target of a grand jury investigating how the company started selling the blood-pressure drug Cardizem LA five years ago.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston is probing the 2003 sales and marketing program in which Biovail introduced the drug to patients through some doctors, the Mississauga-based company said in a statement.
Criminal or civil charges could be filed, the company said.
The federal investigation was first disclosed in 2003 as an administrative inquiry. Barron's reported that year that doctors were wary about Biovail's plan to offer them $1,000 (U.S.) to write 15 prescriptions for Cardizem LA, then complete a report on each patient.
The company, Canada's biggest publicly traded drug maker, said in a release that it has been asked to provide evidence on the Cardizem LA launch and "intends to do so as soon as practicable."
Biovail said it would not make any further comment on the issue on the advice of its lawyers.
The Star
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