Alexion Pharmaceuticals is reaching into its coffers to settle charges leveled against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will hand over a total of roughly $21.5 million in disgorgement, civil penalties, and pre-judgment interest to the regulator.
The SEC alleges that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the federal anti-corruption law that bars U.S. corporations and citizens from bribing government officials abroad.
Allegedly, two of Alexion's subsidiaries had paid foreign officials for favorable treatment for its blockbuster drug Soliris. This occurred from 2010 to 2015 with Turkish government officials, the SEC says, and with officials in Russia from 2011 to 2015. The regulator added that the company's subsidiaries in those countries also maintained false records of such payments.
