EU antitrust raid on drugmakers

Brussels: AstraZeneca, Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker, was raided by European Union antitrust officials as part of a probe into whether companies colluded to keep cheaper copies of medicines off the market.

The European Commission said it raided the premises of “a limited number of” pharmaceutical companies that may have slowed the sale of generic medicines.

AstraZeneca said inspections at its premises concerned the ulcer drug Nexium.