Valeant's Interim CEO to Seek Change to Rules for Prescription Assistance
February 03 2016 - 6:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Jonathan D. Rockoff
Howard Schiller, interim chief executive of Valeant
Pharmaceuticals International Inc., is expected to urge House
lawmakers Thursday to rewrite rules that make it illegal for drug
companies to help Medicare patients pay the out-of-pocket costs of
their prescriptions.
Such assistance for patients in Medicare and other
government-funded health-care programs is considered an illegal
kickback under federal law, so drug companies limit offering the
help only to patients who are commercially insured.
Mr. Schiller, in remarks prepared for his testimony before the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday,
said the rules prevent companies from helping "some of the patients
with the most acute need for assistance. We encourage Congress to
re-examine this policy and consider whether changes are
warranted."
He added that Valeant estimates it spent more than $630 million
helping patients afford copays and other patient assistance last
year, and forecasts it will spend $1 billion this year.
Valeant provided some of the help through a mail-order pharmacy
called Philidor Rx Services LLC, before the drug company cut ties
amid controversy over the aggressive tactics the pharmacy used to
make sure insurers paid for pricey Valeant drugs. To replace
Philidor, Valeant is now joining with Walgreens Boots Alliance
Inc.
The Oversight committee hearing is exploring large price
increases for drugs and obstacles to the timely approval of
lower-priced generic medicines.
The committee subpoenaed Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of
Turing Pharmaceuticals AG when it bought the U.S. rights to an
anti-parasite drug called Daraprim and increased its price more
than 50-fold. Mr. Shkreli resigned as Turing CEO after his arrest
on securities fraud charges, which he denies.
Benjamin Brafman, Mr. Shkreli's new lawyer, said Thursday that
if the former CEO did attend the hearing, he would invoke his Fifth
Amendment privilege against incriminating himself and wouldn't
answer questions.
Valeant raised the prices of two cardiac-care drugs, Nitropress
and Isuprel, by 212% and 525% after acquiring the rights to sell
them last year. Valeant increased the prices to meet sales goals
for the drugs, according to a memo briefing the committee's
Democrats for the hearing.
Mr. Schiller said in his prepared remarks that the market was
already responding to the price increases in ways that would reduce
spending. Nitropress and Isuprel sales have fallen by about 30%
each as hospitals use other medicines, according to his remarks.
And Valeant expects generic alternatives, whose development was
sparked earlier price increases, "could be approved within the next
year or two," he said in his prepared remarks.
Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 03, 2016 18:04 ET (23:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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