BLOOMBERG NEWS SERVICES
A former GlaxoSmithKline lawyer charged with obstructing a regulatory probe of the company sought to force U.S. prosecutors to say whether attorneys at the law firm King & Spalding LLP are unindicted co-conspirators.
Lauren Stevens, who lives in Durham, asked U.S. District Judge Roger Titus at a hearing Friday in Greenbelt, Md., to order the U.S. Justice Department to name any uncharged individuals who may be called as witnesses during the April 5 trial.
King & Spalding "stood shoulder to shoulder" with GSK in responding to a 2002 Food and Drug Administration inquiry into the company's marketing of the antidepressant Wellbutrin SR, said Reid Weingarten, a lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington who represents Stevens.
Lauren Stevens, who lives in Durham, asked U.S. District Judge Roger Titus at a hearing Friday in Greenbelt, Md., to order the U.S. Justice Department to name any uncharged individuals who may be called as witnesses during the April 5 trial.
King & Spalding "stood shoulder to shoulder" with GSK in responding to a 2002 Food and Drug Administration inquiry into the company's marketing of the antidepressant Wellbutrin SR, said Reid Weingarten, a lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington who represents Stevens.
Stevens, indicted in November on charges she obstructed a probe into whether London-based GSK marketed Wellbutrin for unapproved uses, intends to tell jurors at her trial that she relied on "advice of counsel" when making allegedly false statements about sales tactics, the U.S. said in court papers.
Weingarten said he wants to know whether any of the three lawyers from Atlanta-based King & Spalding who worked on the FDA matter are "unindicted co-conspirators" because that would "profoundly affect the trial and how these witnesses testify."
"If they are unindicted co-conspirators, they should know it," Weingarten said.
No obligation
The U.S. has no obligation to reveal the identities of individuals who haven't been charged with a crime, Sara Bloom, an assistant U.S. attorney in Boston, told the judge.
"I think this is a request for our trial strategy," she said.
Titus didn't rule today on Stevens' request.
Stevens is charged with one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of falsifying and concealing documents and four counts of making false statements.
The first two charges carry maximum prison terms of 20 years, and the others carry terms of five years.
GlaxoSmithKline employs about 4,000 people in Research Triangle Park, where it has its U.S. headquarters. It also has employees in Zebulon, where it operates a manufacturing facility.
Mary Anne Rhyne, a spokeswoman for GSK, declined to comment on the hearing. Les Zuke, a spokesman for King & Spalding, declined to comment on the firm's role in representing the company.
Prosecutors contend that Stevens "engaged in a yearlong effort" to deceive the FDA about the company's off-label marketing campaign for Wellbutrin, according to court filings.
Under U.S. law, drug companies aren't allowed to promote a drug for any use not approved by the FDA.
In response to regulators' request for information about Wellbutrin's marketing in October 2002, Stevens allegedly sent a series of letters "that falsely denied the company had promoted the drug for off-label uses, even though she knew" the drug maker had sponsored such marketing programs, prosecutors said in court filings.
Weingarten said he wants to know whether any of the three lawyers from Atlanta-based King & Spalding who worked on the FDA matter are "unindicted co-conspirators" because that would "profoundly affect the trial and how these witnesses testify."
"If they are unindicted co-conspirators, they should know it," Weingarten said.
No obligation
The U.S. has no obligation to reveal the identities of individuals who haven't been charged with a crime, Sara Bloom, an assistant U.S. attorney in Boston, told the judge.
"I think this is a request for our trial strategy," she said.
Titus didn't rule today on Stevens' request.
Stevens is charged with one count of obstructing an official proceeding, one count of falsifying and concealing documents and four counts of making false statements.
The first two charges carry maximum prison terms of 20 years, and the others carry terms of five years.
GlaxoSmithKline employs about 4,000 people in Research Triangle Park, where it has its U.S. headquarters. It also has employees in Zebulon, where it operates a manufacturing facility.
Mary Anne Rhyne, a spokeswoman for GSK, declined to comment on the hearing. Les Zuke, a spokesman for King & Spalding, declined to comment on the firm's role in representing the company.
Prosecutors contend that Stevens "engaged in a yearlong effort" to deceive the FDA about the company's off-label marketing campaign for Wellbutrin, according to court filings.
Under U.S. law, drug companies aren't allowed to promote a drug for any use not approved by the FDA.
In response to regulators' request for information about Wellbutrin's marketing in October 2002, Stevens allegedly sent a series of letters "that falsely denied the company had promoted the drug for off-label uses, even though she knew" the drug maker had sponsored such marketing programs, prosecutors said in court filings.
via newsobserver.com
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