Police in seven Italian regions on Monday arrested 19 people on Monday including physicians and pharmaceutical entrepreneurs amid a corruption and money-laundering probe.
Those held face charges of abuse of office, embezzlement, fraud and fraudulent money transfers, according to police.
A total of 200 officers were deployed in the operation in the northern Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Piemonte, Veneto and in the central Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio regions, police said.
Raids were carried out 52 premises including doctors' homes and at the headquarters of major pharmaceutical companies in the probe centred on drugs trialling and scientific publications in the sector, police said.
Police also seized two shell companies allegedly used to launder money and almost half a million euros as part of Monday's operation.
A total of 75 people are under investigation in the probe, said police.