By Tina Peng

Law360, New York (December 09, 2009, 4:45 PM ET) -- The European Commission conducted surprise raids of several pharmaceutical companies Wednesday, including H. Lundbeck A/S, as part of an investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices.

The European Union antitrust regulator said Wednesday it had “started surprise inspections” of several companies, accompanied by officials from national authorities.

The commission has reason to believe that prohibitions on restrictive business practices or the abuse of a dominant position may have been infringed, although the inspections themselves do not mean the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behavior, it said.

Lundbeck announced...