|
 Japan's health ministry filed a criminal complaint
against Novartis's local unit in January, saying it may have
violated the law when it cited studies based on allegedly
manipulated data.
Novartis said at the time that it had implemented corrective
measures. In a brief statement on Wednesday, it said it does not
comment on pending legal matters and would cooperate fully with the
prosecutors' investigation.
Anyone found guilty of exaggerated advertising of drugs in Japan can
be punished with up to two years in prison or a fine of as much as
two million yen ($19,100), or both.
Several Japanese hospitals have stopped offering Diovan after two
universities retracted papers printed in foreign medical journals on
the drug's efficacy for preventing strokes and heart disease.
Japan is an important market for Novartis, accounting for around a
quarter of Diovan's global sales before the scandal. Annual sales of
Diovan in Japan have topped 100 billion yen ($954 million) since
2005, according to Novartis Pharma. (Reporting by Caroline Copley in
Zurich and Chang-Ran Kim in Toyko; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
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