The raid is part of a general EU antitrust probe of generic practices in France.
European Commission regulators visited the Paris offices of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) as part of general antitrust probe of generic practices in France.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said that said it has been conducting surprise searches at several companies operating in the pharmaceutical industry as a preliminary step in an antitrust probe. Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY; Euronext: SAN) and Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; LSE: NOV; SWX: NOVZ) have also confirmed visits by the regulators.
"The Wall Street Journal" quotes a US-based spokeswoman from Teva as saying that the company was providing full support to commission officials during the inquiry. "In any event, we believe that Teva France has conducted its business in a responsible manner," she said.
Teva's share closed at $50.94 on Nasdaq yesterday. The share rose 0.7% by midday on the TASE today to NIS 191.10.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 7, 2009
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