Drug Distribution Firms Subpoenaed by Spitzer
McKesson Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc., the nation’s two biggest drug distributors, said Friday that they had received subpoenas from New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer’s office in an industrywide inquiry into purchases from other wholesalers.
The Spitzer notice seeks “documents and other information relating to the secondary wholesale market for pharmaceutical products,” San Francisco-based McKesson said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cardinal Health said in its own regulatory filing Friday to the SEC that it too had received a subpoena.
In a regulatory filing Thursday, AmerisourceBergen Corp., the third-largest drug distributor, said it got a notice from Spitzer’s office Wednesday.
The three companies distribute 90% of U.S. drugs made by manufacturers including Pfizer Inc.
AmerisourceBergen said in its filing that the company bought fewer than 0.5% of its drugs from other wholesalers, referred to as the “alternate-source market,” and had not been advised of any misconduct.
“It is our belief the information request is related to a wider-ranging investigation into the safety of the pharmaceutical supply channel and source of counterfeit drugs in the market,” said Lisa Gill, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. in New York, in a note to clients.
Shares of Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health fell $1.30 to $55.53 on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of Chesterbrook, Penn.-based AmerisourceBergen declined $1.37 to $57.83. McKesson, which made its announcement after the close of U.S. markets, fell 81 cents to $38.15 on the NYSE. In after-hours trading, shares slipped 6 cents to $38.09.
