Valeant Under Informal SEC Inquiry

[Guest guest]

Valeant Under Informal SEC InquiryMonday September 11, 8:40 am ET

Valeant Under Informal SEC Inquiry for Stock Option Grants, Trading, Release of Drug Data

COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) -- Drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said Monday the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an informal inquiry into stock trades and the public release of data from its first late phase trial for Viramidine, a hepatitis C treatment.

The company said the SEC also asked for information on its stock option grants since 2000, and information about its pursuit, in the Delaware Chancery Court, of the return of bonuses paid to Milan Panic, its former chairman and chief executive and others, in connection with the initial public offering of Ribapharm. The company said it has been in litigation with Panic regarding the Ribapharm bonus, and the lawsuit had been settled, but the former CEO did not pay an initial amount of the settlement in a timely manner. This, as well as the "breach of various other requirements" caused the company to go back to court on Sept. 6. Panic later filed a suit in Delaware Chancery court "seeking specific enforcement of the original settlement agreement," the company added. Valeant said it is cooperating with the SEC, and added it is conducting an internal review of its past stock option grant practices. A growing number of companies are under internal or federal inquiry for possibly backdating their stock options grants to time them at low points in the share price, thus boosting the payout. Though not necessarily illegal, backdating must be disclosed to investors and accounted for properly. http://biz./ap/060911/valeant_sec.html?.v=1