FDA Says Upjohn Needs Probe On Halcion Conduct

Further enquiry into allegations of criminal misconduct by Upjohn concerning the sleeping pill Halcion (triazolam) should "most appropriately" be considered by the US Department of Justice. This was the verdict of a US Food and Drug Administration task force report, which concluded that the safety concerns which were raised by a 1992 FDA probe of the company and its handling of the Halcion affair should have been brought to the attention of the Justice Department, to see if any crimes had been committed.

Halcion was the subject of considerable controversy in the early 1990s after its use was linked to side effects, such as anxiety and aggressiveness (Marketletters passim). A spokesman for the Justice Department said it would cooperate with the agency and evaluate whatever information is sent to it. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US attorney with jurisdiction for Upjohn's home state of Michigan said the new task force report is under review.

Shares in Pharmacia & Upjohn, formed by the merger of Upjohn with Pharmacia in November 1995, dropped on the announcement. But the importance of the drug to the company is negligible; at onetime it was one of the firm's flagship products with sales of around $250 million. Now it is off-patent, and sales have slumped to around $100 million a year in the face of generic competition.