Amgen hit with subpoenas from U.S. attorneys seeking documents

NEW YORK and SEATTLE Attorneys in the Western District of Washington and the Eastern District of New York have filed federal subpoenas against biotech company Amgen, seeking documents relating to the companys’ products, according to The New York Times.

The company released the requests during a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. They were received on Oct. 25 from New York and on Nov. 1 from Seattle. It has not yet been released as to whether the products stated in the subpoenas are the company’s anemia drugs, which have been part of a major issue recently with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare.

CMS recently suggested that patients on anemia drugs should have a hemoglobin level less than 10 g/dL. Amgen, a manufacturer of erythropoieses-stimulating agents Aranesp and Epogen were looking for the levels to be between 10 and 12 g/dLs.

The company, as a result, stated that it would eliminate 2,600 jobs.

The company also announced that it had been sued in federal court in New Jersey by the Sheet Metal Workers National Health Fund for allegedly, “engaging in an ‘anticompetitive tying arrangement and pricing scheme’ involving the sale of three of its marketed products, Neupogen, Neulasta and Aranesp,” according to Amgen.