ICN And Chairman Under Investigation

A federal grand jury has asked ICN Pharmaceuticals for documents relating to its investigation of the company and its chairman, Milan Panic. ICN has said the request covers a broad range of matters in various time periods and goes beyond material previous requested by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm's general counsel was reluctant to elaborate on the situation, and Mr Panic said he hoped the disclosure would put any rumors to rest.

Part of the SEC investigation and lawsuits by shareholders relate to Mr Panic's sale of $1.24 million in common stock in late 1994. The sale took place after ICN learned that its lead product, Virazole (ribavirin), would not be approved for hepatitis by the US Food and Drug Administration but did not tell investors until several months later, when the stock fell 42% in six days.