Cardinal Health Seeks Restraining Order to Avoid Disruption in Controlled Medicine Shipments from Florida

Cardinal Health CAH today said it will vigorously contest the Drug Enforcement Administration's immediate suspension of its license to distribute controlled medicines from the company's Lakeland, Fla., distribution center and will ask a federal court to block the DEA's efforts. In documents to be filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Cardinal Health asserts the DEA's action involving four pharmacies would disrupt drug shipments to more than 2,500 pharmacy customers in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Although each of the four pharmacies named in the DEA suspension order were licensed by DEA to handle controlled medications, DEA alleges that Cardinal Health knew or should have known that the pharmacies were inappropriately filling prescriptions issued by DEA-licensed physicians for non-medical reasons. The company has scheduled a conference call for its investors at 12 Noon Eastern to discuss its position.