The world’s largest generic-drug maker is at the heart of a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation.
In a regulatory filing last week, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenaed it last month seeking documents related to its operations in Latin America. Business in the region accounted for $221 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2012.
The FCPA bans companies from paying bribes to foreign officials in order to obtain business, and according to the SEC and the Department of Justice, doctors and employees of government-run foreign hospitals qualify as foreign officials.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports that Teva is cooperating with the government and has hired outside counsel to assist in the investigation.
Teva is the latest drug maker that the government has investigated over the past three years. Other probed companies include Merck & Co., AstraZeneca PLC, Bristol-Myers Sqibb Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
Last year, Johnson & Johnson became the first drug company to agree to a major FCPA settlement in which it agreed to pay the government $70 million to settle allegations that it bribed Greek, Iraqi, Polish and Romanian foreign officials for business.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc. is expected to pay more than $60 million to resolve government allegations that it paid bribes to win $68 billion in overseas business.
Read Thomson Reuters for more information about Teva’s FCPA investigation.
For more InsideCounsel stories about Teva, read:
Retailers sue Pfizer for stalling generic Lipitor
CVS, Rite Aid sue Pfizer, Teva over antidepressant
Teva to pay $250 million to end hepatitis C cases
Retailers claim Pfizer kept generic drug off the market
Damages add up for Teva and Baxter in Propofol cases
And for more InsideCounsel stories about the FCPA, read:
Litigation: Comparing the cross-border reach of the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act
Delaware judge reprimands two plaintiffs in Wal-Mart bribery case
Planning for FCPA e-discovery challenges
7 risk and compliance threats facing in-house counsel
6 cases and litigation trends affecting in-house counsel
Wal-Mart lawyers highlight 5 countries with highest bribery risk
SEC targets execs, auditors in Biomet FCPA case
Regulatory: Challenging the government’s broad interpretation of “foreign official” under the FCPA
Groundbreaking FCPA case ends with dismissals
In-house counsel discuss best practices in managing international business
