AstraZeneca confirms it involved in EU pharma probe

Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Friday it had been subject to unannounced inspections by European antitrust regulators investigating its top-selling heartburn drug Nexium.

"I can confirm that we have been the subject of inspections and that we are cooperating with the authorities," a spokesperson for the company told Reuters.

She said the inspections related "to alleged practices regarding Nexium in Europe".

The European Commission said antitrust regulators had carried out raids on some firms in the pharmaceutical sector on suspicions of collusion to delay the entry of generic drugs into the market. The raids took place on November 30 in several EU countries, it said, but gave no detail.

In October, several generic drugmakers launched cheap copies of AstraZeneca top-selling heartburn and ulcer treatment Nexium in Germany, in a move that was likely to hit its revenues in Europe's biggest market.

German drugmaker Bayer said it was not affected by the EU drugs sector raids, and other drug firms in the region were not immediately available for comment.