SEC ends probe into Chiron flu vaccine shortage

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SEC ends probe into Chiron flu vaccine shortage

February 8, 2006 11:37:00 am

[JURIST] British pharmaceutical company Chiron [corporate website] has announced [press release] that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] has ended its investigation of the company, which was related to Chiron's failure to supply sufficient flu vaccines [USA Today report] in October 2004. The inability to deliver an adequate vaccine supply was due to UK regulators shutting down a Chiron-run vaccine manufacturing facility in Britain. The SEC investigation focused on whether company executives misled investors about the company's ability to deliver sufficient vaccines, and on Chiron's restatement of its financial results for the second half of 2004.

The SEC probe began around the same time a federal grand jury subpoenaed the company for information on its flu vaccines [JURIST report]. Chiron was also the target of state and federal investigations [JURIST report] as a result of its inability to provide sufficient vaccines. Wednesday's LA Times has more.

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