Dive Brief:
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Valeant has agreed to pay $54 million to settle a federal probe of Salix Pharmaceuticals, which Valeant brought last year for $11 billion.
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The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern Distict of New York had been probing Salix's marketing practices involving several stomach disorder drugs.
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The settlement closes one of several federal investigations into Valeant's business practices.
Dive Insight:
The federal government is investigating all sorts of issues involving Valeant, but here's one the company basically inherited when it acquired Salix. The U.S. attorney had been investigating Salix's marketing practices for several of its drugs. Salix was the maker of Xifaxan, an irritable bowel syndrome drug that Valeant has been touting as a growth target.
Papa specifically mentioned Xifaxan in an earnings call earlier this week, saying sales were lower than expected in part because of salesforce turnover. Valeant stock has been getting clobbered this week after the company reported a Q1 loss; it fell nearly 3% Wednesday to close at $23.92.
Valeant's 10-Q form, filed earlier this week, says the settlement rquires payment of $47 million plus interest, for a total of approximately $54 million.