PRICE-FIXING GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA
Executive Summary
PRICE-FIXING GRAND JURY INVESTIGATIONS IN PHILADELPHIA are underway on two separate fronts according to recent financial disclosures by Robins and SmithKline. Robins said that a federal grand jury in the city subpoenaed the firm's records, due Dec. 30, as part of an industry-wide probe into alleged price-fixing of prefilled syringes. Information on the subpoena was made public as part of Robins' filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief from Dalkon Shield litigation. SmithKline said a federal grand jury in Philadelphia is continuing to investigate alleged antitrust violations related to marketing of its antibiotic Ancef. The firm reported the grand jury is examining "the marketing, sale, and distribution of Ancef (cefazolin) in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 1980 and June 1, 1985, particularly as those practices relate to bids and sales to hospitals and hospital buying groups." The disclosure was made in a Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, which detailed a proposed share buy-back ("The Pink Sheet" Dec. 1, T&G-3). Earlier in the year, Lilly revealed that its marketing of Kefzol (cefazolin) is the subject of an ongoing grand jury investigation in Philadelphia. Lilly made the disclosure in an SEC filing related to the purchase of Hybritech ("The Pink Sheet" Feb. 17, T&G-2). LyphoMed received the first ANDA for a generic version of cefazolin on Nov. 17 ("The Pink Sheet" Dec. 1, T&G-10).