Merck & Co gets subpoena over cancer and antiviral drug marketing in USA

Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) has received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice as part of a criminal investigation requesting details of the marketing and selling of three prescription medicines, acquired along with its acquisition of Schering-Plough in 2009, from January 1, 2004 to the present, the US drugs giant revealed in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The products in question are the brain cancer treatment Temodar (temozolomide), hepatitis C drug PegIntron (pegylated interferon alfa-2b), and cancer therapy Intron A (interferon alfa-2b). Sales of the drugs for the first half of this year totaled $481 million, $319 million and $96 million, respectively (The Pharma Letter August 1).

The revelation saw Merck’s shares fall 5.6% to $29.94 yesterday, albeit in a sharply declining market, when the S&P plunged 6.7% and largely triggered by that agency’s downgrade of America’s debt rating. This was the lowest level for the company since August 2009, noted a Bloomberg report. Merck said it is cooperating with the DoJ investigation.