DECISION 2000 / ORANGE COUNTY

Chiron Corp., one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies, said Tuesday it was subpoenaed by the state attorney general’s office in a whistle-blower lawsuit against it and other drug companies.

Emeryville, Calif.-based Chiron disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the subpoena was served Sept. 18 and seeks information about Chrion’s pricing of some generic oncology drugs to Medi-Cal and Medicaid, the state and U.S. health-care programs for the poor.

Chiron said the drugs were sold by Cetus-Ben Venue Therapeutics, a joint venture between Chiron and Ben Venue Laboratories, a unit of German drug company Boehringer Ingelheim. Chiron sold its interest in the joint venture in 1996, the SEC filing said. Chiron said it doesn’t know when the legal matter will be concluded.

Chiron said in the filing the subpoena is believed to be related to a whistle-blower lawsuit against it and “a large number of other pharmaceutical companies.”

Chiron officials weren’t available to comment.

Immunex Corp., Schering-Plough Corp. and the pharmacy benefit-management units of Merck & Co. and Rite Aid Corp. previously have said they were subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of an investigation into marketing tactics used by big pharmaceutical companies.

The Justice Department is trying to determine whether the discounts drug makers offer to suppliers also are shared with the government or small private health plans.