Valeant Under US Federal Investigation Over Pricing of 2 Drugs Used for Cardiac Care

Canadian pharmaceutical group Valeant is said to have increased the prices of Nitropress and Isuprel, by 525% and 212%, respectively, after purchasing the drugs. Several Democratic lawmakers in late September 2015 had pressed Valeant to provide documentation explaining the spike in its prices early in 2015 on these two drugs used for cardiac care. The pharmaceutical group says it has received subpoenas from US federal prosecutors seeking information about the pricing and distribution of its drugs, along with how it makes them more affordable for patients. Valeant said, "We intends to cooperate with the authorities, which also want the company to provide details on information it gave to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services."

The lawmakers, who have been investigating Valeant for several weeks now, are also seeking to have chief executive Michael Pearson testify.

Pearson said, "All of us at Valeant firmly believe in maintaining strong regulatory and financial controls and believe we have operated our business in a fully compliant manner. We remain committed to assisting eligible patients who need our products, and we will be working with the appropriate groups to submit the requested documents and plan to cooperate with the inquiries."

Source-AFP