Roche's Xenical played a central role in the case of Robin Huxley, a U.K. operator of slimming clinics who pleaded guilty in December to violating prescription drug laws. Posing as a pharmacist--and using a pseudonym--Huxley bought more than $1 million worth of Xenical a month, accounting for most of Xenical's U.K. sales outside the National Health Service.
Roche stopped selling Xenical to Huxley when regulators launched an investigation in 2005. But court documents in a wrongful dismissal suit detail just how Roche amped up its sales to Huxley through discounts. Despite suspicions within the company and among analysts that Huxley wasn't completely kosher, the company helped Huxley buy another diet clinic, according to the Financial Times. Roche has since changed its distribution methods and won't sell meds to any private diet clinic directors.
- check out the Financial Times report