A federal judge has ordered Abbott Laboratories to hand over thousands of e-mails in connection with a government investigation into whether the drugmaker illegally marketed a neurological drug.
Abbott has refused two subpoena requests from the attorney general for the Western District of Virginia, calling the request "overly burdensome." The attorney general requested all e-mails by three executives, including Chief Executive Miles White, sent between 1996 and 2008.
The attorney general is investigating whether Abbott promoted its anti-seizure drug Depakote for aggression in seniors, an unapproved use.
U.S. judge Samuel Wilson rejected Abbott's arguments in documents posted online, and ordered the company to produce the e-mails.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press
