Both Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson have been asked to provide information regarding drug-eluting stents, which are tubes that keep arteries open after they have been unclogged.
Boston Scientific said it will provide information relating to the request for information relating to its Taxus paclitaxel-eluting coronary stents. Boston Scientific and J&J have been targeted because of concerns about off-label promotion and safety issues with the devices.
The stent devices have previously been subject to speculation that they lead to higher risks of potentially fatal blood clots years after implantation.
AstraZeneca is also to give information because of allegations that the company inappropriately marketed its schizophrenia drug Seroquel. Another drug maker Cephalon was asked about the promotion of two of its pain drugs, Fentora and Actiq.
The third drug manufacturer that has come under scrutiny is Eli Lilly. Lilly has been asked about its anti-psychotic medication Zyprexa which was the subject of a New York Times article last year that claimed the company was involved in illegal promotion of the drug.
Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is analyzing the testing and sales of the healthcare devices and medications and requested the information as part of an ongoing investigation into the marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies.