A Medical Device Daily

Immucor (Norcross, Georgia), a manufacturer of automated instrument-reagent systems used in blood transfusion procedures, on Friday reported that earlier in the month (Oct. 12) it received a letter from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requesting information concerning three acquisitions made by Immucor from 1996 through 1999, and concerning Immucor's product pricing activities since then.

Immucor said that the letter "states that the request is part of a non-public investigation by the FTC of whether Immucor violated federal antitrust laws or engaged in unfair methods of competition through those acquisitions, and whether Immucor or others engaged in unfair methods of competition by restricting price competition."

It said that the letter also states that neither the letter notification nor the "existence" of an investigation should be seen as a conclusion by the agency that Immucor has violated the laws.

The company said it will cooperate with the investigation and is "in the process" of responding to its request.

It added: "At this time the company cannot reasonably assess the timing or outcome of the investigation or its effect, if any, on the company's business."

In September, Gioacchino De Chirico, president/CEO of Immucor, paid $30,000, thereby settling charges by the Securities and Exchange concerning payments to an Italian physician by the company's Italian subsidiary (Medical Device Daily, Oct. 1, 2007). Resolution of the matter included the company's entry of a cease and desist order from future violations. De Chirico, former president of the Italian subsidiary, admitted no wrongdoing, and the SEC required no settlement payment by the company.

Italian prosecutors had alleged that De Chirico had participated in making a 113,500 payment to one physician and payments to another physician totaling about $47,000 to gain favorable procurement action at the physicians' hospitals.

Also in September the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, in an unrelated matter, approved a class action settlement against the company of $2.5 million. That action had been launched in 2005.