Japan to investigate Novartis promotion of Diovan; US allegation over Exjade

Swiss drug major Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) faced two problems yesterday, when the Japanese Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare (MHLW) filed a formal criminal complaint with the public prosecutor’s office relating to its marketing of the antihypertensive drug Diovan (valsartan), and in the USA, where it was accused of paying kickbacks to a New York pharmacy company to promote its Exjade (deferasirox), according to numerous press reports.

The case alleges that Novartis and an unspecified number of employees for allegedly misleading consumers through advertisements that used research that the MHLW said was altered to support the benefits of Diovan—the first time criminal charges have been sought in such a case, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The research was conducted by several Japanese universities, some of which later found that the results had been falsified, exaggerating Diovan's effectiveness

Company acknowledges improper behaviour by an employee