FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin

The Massachusetts district attorney’s office has served Wyeth with subpoenas seeking information and grand jury testimony related to marketing practices for the firm’s proton-pump inhibitor Protonix for heartburn.

The attorney’s office issued the subpoenas for documents and this year’s grand jury testimony concerning the firm’s promotions for Protonix (pantoprazole sodium), as well as pricing practices for both the IV and tablet formulations of the drug, according to SEC filings.

Wyeth said it would produce the documents on a rolling basis and is cooperating with the investigation.

“A number of additional current and former employees of the company also have testified before the grand jury during 2008,” Wyeth said in its most recent quarterly filing with the SEC.

Teva and Sun Pharmaceutical launched generic versions of Protonix tablets earlier this year. Wyeth also is involved in litigation with Teva over the IV formulation of the product.

Sales of Protonix have plunged since generic versions of the drug were introduced. Wyeth recorded $1.9 billion for the product in 2007, but sales including the drug’s authorized generic version were $387 million for the first six months of this year, according to Wyeth.