Chiron gets subpoena over vaccine debacle

	Tweet

A federal grand jury is investigating Chiron Corp.’s failure to deliver flu vaccine for the coming flu season, the company disclosed on Tuesday.

Chiron, which had been expected to supply half the nation’s vaccine supply, said it had received a grand jury subpoena seeking documents about the vaccine. Sterility problems were found at the British plant where the vaccine is made.

The subpoena was issued on Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Chiron said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it will cooperate with the investigation.

“I don’t exactly know what they are looking for, but I assume it relates to Chiron’s disclosure practices, and I’m sure we’ll see other investigations and maybe some shareholder litigation,” said Eric Schmidt, an analyst at SG Cowen. “But I think Chiron now is a cheap stock.”

British regulators stopped Chiron from releasing 48 million doses of its flu vaccine after they found what one U.S. regulator described as “systemic deficiencies within the firm related to sterility issues as well as a finding of contamination in some of the lots.” Most of Chiron’s vaccine is made at a plant in Liverpool, England.

Chiron shares fell 53 cents, or 1.55 percent, to $33.72 in early trading on the Nasdaq stock market.

Chiron officials were not immediately available for further comment. Megan Gaffney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said no further details were being given out at present. 

RELATED STORIES:
Set for ban, DDT lingers in battle against malaria   Discovery of the molecular mechanism that inhibits HCV replication in vitro   Drug-resistant tuberculosis rife in China   Lipid Blocks Influenza Infection   Contact lenses are home to pathogenic amoebae   UN vaccinates 7 mln Madagascans in measles drive   Blood transfusions associated with infection   Fly gut bacteria could control sleeping sickness   Drug-resistant typhoid increasing in the U.S.   Scientists fear new Ebola outbreak may explain sudden gorilla disappearance   China says meningitis outbreak routine   A new strategy to tuberculosis

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]