SEC Charges Alexion Pharmaceuticals With FCPA Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Boston-based pharmaceutical company Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay more than $21 million to resolve charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC’s order, two Alexion subsidiaries made payments to foreign government officials to secure favorable treatment for Alexion’s primary drug, Soliris. The order finds that, from 2010 to 2015, Alexion Turkey paid Turkish government officials to improperly influence them to approve patient prescriptions and provide other favorable regulatory treatment for Soliris. The order similarly finds that from 2011 to 2015, Alexion Russia made improper payments to Russian government health care officials to favorably influence the regulatory treatment of and the budget allocated to Soliris as well as to increase the number of approved Soliris prescriptions.