Howard Schiller, interim CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., is planning to testify at a congressional hearing next week that will explore drug-price increases, according to a company spokeswoman.

Also in connection with the hearing, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed Martin Shkreli and ordered him to testify, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Valeant has been "providing information" to the House Oversight committee, the company spokeswoman said Wednesday. "Mr. Schiller looks forward to testifying and sharing with the committee how Valeant works to make its drugs available to the millions of patients who depend on them," she added.

The hearing scheduled for Tuesday is expected to explore how Valeant and some other companies had bought the rights to prescription drugs and then raised their prices, the subject of on April article in The Wall Street Journal.

The Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to Valeant earlier this month requesting information about the price increases for two of the drugs featured in the article: Isuprel and Nitropress, whose prices rose 525% and 212% respectively.

Valeant is joining with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. pharmacies to provide some of its drugs "at affordable prices for eligible patients" as well as to "take costs out of the health-care system," Mr. Schiller told analysts and investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference last week.

Valeant recently raised the list prices of 21 drugs acquired as part of the company's purchase last April of Salix Pharmaceuticals. Valeant said it raised the price of irritable-bowel treatment Xifaxan by 9%, while increasing the prices of the 20 other drugs by 9.9%.

"Valeant canceled virtually all planned price increases in the fourth quarter, and the revised pricing is in line with recently announced price increases by other pharmaceutical companies," the Valeant spokeswoman said.

While Mr. Shkreli led Turing Pharmaceuticals AG last year, the company bought the U.S. rights to an anti-parasitic drug called Daraprim and raised its price more than 50-fold.

"I have been trying for the better part of a year to get information from Martin Shkreli about his outrageous price increases, and he has obstructed our investigation at every turn," Rep. Cummings said.

Mr. Shkreli stepped down as Turing CEO last month, after he was arrested for allegedly misleading investors in his hedge funds and raiding another public company to cover the losses. Mr. Shkreli pleaded not guilty and has denied all charges. He didn't respond immediately to an email requesting comment on the subpoena.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, Mr. Shkreli said he had been targeted by authorities for his much-criticized drug-price hikes and over-the-top public persona.

Also expected to testify at the Oversight committee hearing, according to a person familiar with the matter, are Janet Woodcock, director of the Food and Drug Administration's drugs division; Nancy Retzlaff, Turing's chief commercial officer; and Mark Merritt, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.

Stephanie Armour contributed to this article.

Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2016 18:15 ET (23:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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