NEW YORK (AP) – Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. says that federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the drug developer, seeking information on its drug pricing, distribution and patient assistance program.
The federal inquiry disclosed late Wednesday comes at a time of heightened awareness over the increasing price of prescription drugs. In September, hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli’s Turing Pharmaceuticals came under fire for increasing the price of a medication called Daraprim to $750 from $13.50 after buying the company that owned the rights. He has maintained that the increase better reflects the value of the drug.
Valeant drew Congress’ interest following its purchase of the heart drugs Nitropress and Isuprel and subsequent price increases, which ranged from a doubling to a more than tripling in price for the drugs.
The Canadian company said that it received a subpoena recently from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and another subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Valeant Chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson said his company will cooperate with the federal inquiries.
Pearson said the company’s employees believe in “maintaining strong regulatory and financial controls and believe we have operated our business in a fully compliant manner.”
In September, Democrats on the House committee on oversight and government reform sent a letter to the committee’s Republican chairman seeking a subpoena forcing Valeant to turn over pricing information. At the time, Valeant claimed that information was “highly proprietary and confidential.”
In a statement late Wednesday, Valeant said it responded to a letter from Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, concerning Nitropress and Isuprel. It addressed pricing and reimbursement, along with patient assistance programs.