(Reuters) -Abbott Laboratories said on Friday it received a civil investigative demand in January from the Federal Trade Commission related to a probe of the companies participating in bids for women, infants and children formula contracts.
Panicked parents had emptied baby formula aisles at supermarkets last year as a recall of formulas produced at an Abbott facility in Michigan over complaints of bacterial infections worsened a shortage started by pandemic-led supply chain issues.
The FTC had launched an inquiry last year into the shortage for infant formula in the United States and had said it would examine the pattern of mergers and acquisitions in the formula market.
The agency declined to comment on the matter on Friday.
The Wall Street Journal had reported in January that Abbott’s Michigan plant faced a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
On Friday, Abbott said in a regulatory filing that multiple civil lawsuits have been filed against the company regarding its manufacturing of certain powder infant formula products.
Shares of the company were down 1.4% in extended trading.
(Reporting by Granth Vanaik; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
