Senate committee to scrutinize drug prices set by Valeant, Turing, Retrophin and Rodelis
Each of these companies market drugs that have seen recent and significant spikes in price.
A U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging is investigating pharmaceutical drug pricing and has requested documents from pharmaceutical companies Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Turing Pharmaceuticals, Retrophin and Rodelis Therapeutics.
Each of these companies market drugs that have seen recent and significant spikes in price, according to the Nov. 4 announcement by committee leaders Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.
The the committee will hold its first hearing on December 9.
[Also: Daraprim competitor to market $1 pill after Turing hikes price]
The investigation is spurred by dramatic drug price increases, often on older, off-patent drugs, after the acquisition or merger of pharmaceutical companies. The announcement comes after Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli faced public backlash over his plan to increase the cost of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per tablet after acquiring the drug from Impax Laboratories. He has since said he will drop the price.
The American Hospital Association and America's Health Insurance Plans in recent weeks have pointed to rising drug prices as both a concern for their industries and for affordable healthcare.
A recent Premier survey shows healthcare providers consider the rising cost of pharmaceuticals and ongoing drug shortages among their most pressing challenges. The price of prescription drugs is outpacing that of hospital and physician services, according to the American Hospital Association.
"The sudden, aggressive price hikes for a variety of drugs used widely for decades affect patients and healthcare providers and the overall cost of health care," Collins said in a statement. "These substantial increases have the potential to inflate the cost of healthcare for Americans, especially our seniors, by hundreds of millions of dollars each year."
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The committee's investigation, they said, will include an examination of substantial price increases on recently acquired off-patent drugs, mergers and acquisitions within the pharmaceutical industry that have sometimes led to dramatic increases in off-patent drug prices, and the Food and Drug Administration's role in the drug approval process for generic drugs.
The Senate announcement comes amid a U.S. Justice Department probe of drug pricing practices by Merck, Eli LIlly and Valeant.
The drug makers received inquiries from regional U.S. Attorney's offices seeking information about how they calculate and report drug prices for the Medicaid rebate program, according to Kaiser Health News. Drug makers pay rebates to Medicaid that are calculated based on the average price that wholesalers pay manufacturers for drugs.
Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have also formed a task force to combat what they called the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
