Inotiv’s Shares Fall as It Reports Subpoena in Primate Probe
Inotiv’s Shares Fall as It Reports Subpoena in Primate Probe
Zeno Markets 8
Shares of medical researcher Inotiv Inc. on Thursday extended a decline that began with unexpected losses and continued after the company disclosed that recently bought unit received a grand jury subpoena from Miami prosecutors investigating imports of primates from Asia.
Inotiv, whose contract laboratories serve major pharmaceutical companies, fell 14% on Thursday, adding to a drop of nearly 17% on Wednesday.
The website for the company’s Envigo Global Services Inc. subsidiary invites researchers to “keep your study on track with an extensive 3-to-4 month supply” of primates, and says it has “the largest quarantine capacity in the U.S.,” including breeding and holding space. It also offers rodents, dogs and rabbits.
Inotiv says it’s not a target of the investigation, and doesn’t expect the impact of the investigation to be material to its business.
Inotiv has shed almost half its market value since Feb. 10, when the company, based in West Lafayette, Indiana, reported a wider net loss for its fiscal first quarter. The stock is still up about 18% from a year earlier.
In a regulatory filing Wednesday, the company said that Envigo was served in June with a subpoena issued by the Department of Justice in Miami. The company was asked to produce documents related to the import into the U.S. of “non-human primates” from China, Cambodia and Vietnam from April 1, 2014, to March 28, 2019.
Calls to Inotiv and Envigo, which is based in Denver, Pennsylvania, brought no answer or busy signals only at their offices on Thursday. Inotiv’s acquisition of Envigo was completed in November.
“Management believes the investigation that is being conducted by the Department of Justice in Miami, Florida is an industry-wide investigation,” Chief Financial Officer Beth Taylor said Wednesday via email. “We do not believe that we are the target of the investigation, and the company is cooperating with the Department of Justice.”
Marlene Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Southern District of Florida, didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment Thursday.
Last year, Miami federal prosecutors said that a Texas man pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents in a criminal investigation into illegal importation of long-tailed macaques, primates often used in research. Sale and transport of the macaques across borders is highly regulated by U.S. and international law, they said. He worked for Orient BioResource Center. Inotiv bought that company last month, according to Inside Indiana Business.
