Gilead Subpoena Will Have Investors Guessing: What's Wrong With the CVT Acquisition?

(MoneyWatch)  Gilead's single-sentence announcement that it received a subpoena regarding Ranexa from the Office of the Inspector General of HHS could be nothing or anything. One thing is for sure, securities class-action lawyers will be watching this very closely, as the subpoena comes just a few months after Gilead acquired CV Therapeutics in order to obtain the heart drug.

Stripping out the boilerplate, Gilead said only:

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) announced today that it has received a subpoena from the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services requesting documents regarding the development, marketing and sales of Ranexa® (ranolazine).

The question now becomes, what did Gilead know and when did it know it? Worst-case scenario: If it were to emerge that Gilead discovered something weird going on with Ranexa but decided to take the risk and acquire it anyway, and if the probe eventually hamstrings sales of the drug, then investors holding Gilead stock may have a case.

But that's a lot of ifs. Only one thing is for sure: Gilead's next few 10-Q statements will be compulsory reading.

• See BNET's previous coverage of Gilead:
• Gilead Created "Cocktail Bar for Rats" to Test Anti-Booze Drug
• Gilead Axes 139 Jobs in Colorado; CVT Reps Get Culture Shock
• Ranking of 20 Drug Companies Shows Sales Force Effectiveness Reaching Plateau
• Gilead Q2 Mystery: Purchase of Less-Efficient CVT Made It a More Efficient Company
• Ranking of 20 Drug Companies by Sales Force Effectiveness Shows Improvement in Q1
• Gilead Q1: Company Is Recession Resistant But Not Lawsuit Resistant
• Gilead Whistleblower Suit: A Bullet Dodged
• With New CV Drugs, Gilead Tests Its Commitment to Efficiency
• Gilead Executive Pay: Modest Raises for Outstanding Performance
• Gilead Deal Gives CV Therapeutics CEO $8.4 Million Payday Despite Lack of Profits