Drug seller denies wrongdoing, stock falls

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Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

NEW YORK -- AmerisourceBergen Corp., the biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, today denied that it illegally tried to garner extra rebates from pharmaceutical companies after the Wall Street Journal reported the company was under investigation.

Shares of Amerisource dropped $6.40, or 11 percent, to $50.25 as of 10:58 a.m. New York time in Instinet trading. New York Stock Exchange trading of the shares was halted.

"The article implies that AmerisourceBergen somehow participated in an illegal scheme," Chief Executive David Yost said in a statement. "Such inference is absolutely not true, as will undoubtedly be demonstrated in a thorough investigation."

The company said the article was probably about an investigation into one of Amerisource's customers who illegally resold some products bought from the company. Amerisource said it stopped doing business with that customer in February 2000 and cooperated with the government after being contacted. It said it's had no contact with investigators since early 2001.