BAD HOMBURG (dpa-AFX) - A hacker attack was carried out on a US subsidiary of the blood purification specialist Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) back in September. This is according to a report submitted by the dialysis company to the SEC on Wednesday. The attack on the heart specialist Cardiovascular Consultants resulted in the theft of data and may have affected around 500,000 current and former patients and 200 employees. The MDax-listed share slipped on the stock exchange following the news.

Fresenius Medical Care immediately took countermeasures and initiated a forensic investigation, the company said. The FMC subsidiary Fresenius Vascular Care is also currently being investigated for possible effects of the incident. According to the information provided, the dialysis group does not expect the incident to have a significant impact on its earnings situation. In a statement, the company said on request that it was taking the incident very seriously and apologized "deeply for any inconvenience this incident may have caused"./tav/jha/