Grand Jury Probes Halcion Record

By ED WHITE

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) A federal grand jury has been investigating whether
Upjohn Co. hid safety concerns about the controversial sleeping pill Halcion,
the company said.

The company, now known as Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., made the disclosure in a
document filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission in
Washington.

The principal focus of the testimony involved tapes and disks containing
Halcion clinical data and analyses, the company said in its annual 10K
report. Three company employees and a former worker have testified before the
grand jury, the report said.

``There's clearly been no attempts to hide data or falsify data,'' Dr. Goran
Ando, an executive vice president of the company, said Tuesday after
Pharmacia & Upjohn's annual meeting. ``We've shown this over and over
again.''

Ando said he had no knowledge about the status of the investigation.

Halcion was the world's topselling sleeping pill until allegations arose
that it could provoke violent reactions. It still is sold worldwide, although
Britain banned it in 1991.

The Food and Drug Administration has examined Halcion many times since 1982,
lowering the dose and adding to the label warnings of such side effects as
anxiety, behavior changes and abnormal thinking.

In a report to Congress 11 months ago, the FDA said it could not conclude
that Upjohn, based in Kalamazoo, did anything wrong. But it also sent its
findings to federal prosecutors in western Michigan.

Citing grand jury secrecy rules, prosecutors in Grand Rapids declined to
comment. Federal grand juries generally are convened for 18 months to
consider a variety of criminal cases.

In its annual report to shareholders, Pharmacia & Upjohn said it is involved
in several liability lawsuits over Halcion.