Mylan Inc., the world’s third-largest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, has sued the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and reporters Len Boselovic and Patricia Sabatini over a July 26, 2009, story in which the reporters alleged that Mylan employees at a West Virginia facility had been systematically ignoring automatically generated warnings that the drugs being manufactured might not meet federal specifications. The story cited “a confidential internal report obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.”
In the suit, Mylan alleges that the Post-Gazette report misrepresented a confidential report and make it seem like the plant had serious quality control and regulatory issues. The drug maker seeks the return of those internal documents (and any others the paper might have), and compensatory damages from those who benefited from what the company claims were improperly obtained documents. See Mylan’s press release.
According to Post-Gazette reporter Teresa Lindeman, an FDA review spurred by the story found that the company had taken sufficient steps to correct the matter. The FDA plans no further action in the case.
