Lilly Discloses Subpoena From State

Connecticut Seeks Data On Practices Involving A Health-Care Association

By Vanessa Fuhrmans, The Wall Street Journal
March 2, 2006; Page D6

The Connecticut attorney general has issued nearly four dozen subpoenas, including one reported by drug maker Eli Lilly & Co., inquiring about possible anticompetitive practices involving an association of hospitals and health-care product and service companies.

The investigation, begun last summer, involves Healthcare Research and Development Institute LLC, a Pensacola, Fla.-based organization of executives from several dozen hospitals, health-care systems and other companies in health care. The group’s Web site says it provides a forum for companies to share ideas in improving hospitals and health care.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said his office is probing whether the institute is violating antitrust rules in any arrangements to buy services and supplies, including prescription drugs and medical devices.

The group has “a structure and limited membership that calls into question some of its stated purposes,” Mr. Blumenthal said. Some of the organization’s members are executives from Becton, Dickinson & Co., a medical supplies and device maker; MedAssets Inc., a hospital supply chain manager; and Sodexho Health Care Services, a unit of Sodexho Alliance SA of France, which provides hospital food and other services, he said. He declined to say whether these companies were targets of the probe.

Mr. Blumenthal added that 45 subpoenas have been issued to various manufacturers and other health-care companies in relation to the investigation, but wouldn’t disclose their names. Eli Lilly disclosed it had received its subpoena for documents tied to the health-care organization in its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Executives at Healthcare Research and Development Institute couldn’t be reached for comment.

Eli Lilly didn’t have any immediate comment, and executives at MedAssets and Sodexho couldn’t be reached for comment.

Becton Dickinson confirmed that it also has received a subpoena related to its membership in the organization. In a December filing with the SEC, it said it believed its participation in the group has been in compliance with the law.

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Type 1′s don’t really need the advertising…we’ll take whatever insulin keeps us living.

Thanks for lighting up this Novo issue. Novo looks and sounds guilty — the letter from the CEO is a classic case of not thinking before pressing the send button.

Unfortunately, any fines to this company will only be passed on to the consumer. Fines won’t hurt them one bit unless it’s taken from the executives personal piggybanks. Fine them a million, or a billion — who pays? We do! Who wins? The lawyers.

(I think I’ve changed all the settings on my blog if you want to try again. Thanks!)