NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Medco Health Solutions Inc (MHS.N) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) were subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice over their relationship involving four of AstraZeneca's drugs, including widely used acid reflux medicines Nexium and Prilosec.
The companies said separately on Tuesday they received the subpoenas this month. They were issued from the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Delaware, the state which is also home to AstraZeneca's U.S. headquarters.
News of the investigation comes at a sensitive time for Medco, which agreed last week to be bought by Express Scripts Inc (ESRX.O) for $29.1 billion. [ID:nN1E76K024]
The deal -- which combines two of the three largest pharmacy benefit managers -- is projected to have a difficult road to winning U.S. antitrust clearance, so any further regulatory issues could add to the roadblocks.
According to London-based AstraZeneca, the government wants documents relating to its relationship with Medco involving Nexium and Prilosec, as well as blood-pressure medicines Toprol XL and Plendil.
Nexium ranked as the fourth-biggest selling drug in the world last year, according to pharmaceutical information company IMS Health Inc, while Prilosec was once a major product before losing patent protection and becoming available as a generic.
In March, Medco said it received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to an ongoing probe of Calpers -- the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Medco and AstraZeneca get U.S. subpoenas over four drugs | Reuters
via reuters.com
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