Chiron: Got Records Request, Not Subpoena
 

Mon Dec 20, 2004 04:53 PM ET

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chiron Corp. (CHIR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) mistakenly reported in a regulatory filing that it received a U.S. House of Representatives committee subpoena for certain records relating to its flu vaccine, the company said on Monday.

Chiron spokeswoman Alison Marquiss said the House Committee on Energy and Commerce had requested the documents about the vaccine, called Fluvirin. But "it's not a subpoena," she said.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released earlier on Monday, Chiron said it had "received a subpoena" from the committee. Jon Tripp, spokesman for the committee, said lawmakers had not issued one.

The documents are part of ongoing investigations into contamination problems at the firm's British vaccine plant wiped out about half the U.S. flu shot supply for the 2004-2005 season and left U.S. officials scrambling to find other doses.

Committee Chairman Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, sent Chiron a letter Nov. 18 asking for any documents about problems at the plant in Liverpool. The letter to Chiron President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Pien asked for materials by Dec. 1.

The SEC filing did not offer any details about the committee request, but Chiron's Marquiss said the company is "cooperating fully." She added the company had provided some records and would continue to provide others.

Shares of the Emeryville, California-based Chiron closed down 23 cents at $31.51 on Monday on the Nasdaq.

Chiron and Aventis-Pasteur (AVEP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) , a subsidiary of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) (SNY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , are the only two companies that make flu shots for the U.S. market.

Since U.S. and British authorities announced the plant's troubles in October, Chiron has been the subject of several congressional hearings and investigations, including by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the SEC.

U.S. health officials have defended the government's handling of the problems and said the company should not be prosecuted. Chiron has said it is working to correct the manufacturing problems by March, when it would need to resume production of Fluvirin for the next flu season.

Chiron also said in the filing that certain parties that had contracted to receive the vaccine, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were considering filing claims against it.

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