5 Drug Firms Settle Charges Over Labeling

Five drug companies that account for nearly all the store-brand pain relievers sold in the country have settled federal charges that they mislabeled some of their products “Made in USA.”

According to the Federal Trade Commission, many of the companies’ “Made in USA”-labeled products contained imported ingredients that made up the bulk of the cost.

By law, the FTC requires that any product labeled “Made in USA” must be “all or virtually all” domestically made.

The companies settling the charges are: Leiner Health Products Inc. of Carson; Perrigo Co. of Allegan, Mich; A&S; Pharmaceutical Corp. of Bridgeport, Conn.; LNK International Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y.; and Pharmaceutical Formulations Inc. of Edison, N.J.

The companies declined to comment Tuesday.

The settlements allow the companies to print labels that say “Processed in the United States with Foreign Ingredients,” when appropriate.