Drug CEO Will Lower Price of Daraprim After Hike Sparked Outrage

L_Ron_Paul · Sep 22, 2015

The pharmaceutical company boss under fire for increasing the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent said Tuesday he will lower the cost of the life-saving medication.

Martin Shkreli did not say what the new price would be, but expected a determination to be made over the next few weeks.

He told NBC News that the decision to lower the price was a reaction to outrage over the increase in the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
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http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-daraprim-after-outrage-n431926

Well this is a disappointment. This guy was well within his rights for what he was doing and he caved in to progressive/socialist/lower-class pandering. I for one will not be buying this company's products.

Ethereal · Sep 27, 2015

Was he within his rights? Or was he just ruthlessly leveraging the state's intellectual property regime for his own personal benefit?

FreshAir · Sep 27, 2015

L_Ron_Paul said: ↑

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-daraprim-after-outrage-n431926

Well this is a disappointment. This guy was well within his rights for what he was doing and he caved in to progressive/socialist/lower-class pandering. I for one will not be buying this company's products.
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I think one should lose all patent rights if caught price gouging

waltky · Nov 4, 2015

Senate looking into drug price hike...

U.S. Senate panel probing Valeant, Turing over drug costs
Wed Nov 4, 2015 - A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday launched a bipartisan probe into pharmaceutical pricing, seeking documents from four drugmakers including Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Turing Pharmaceuticals, companies embroiled in controversy over price hikes on lifesaving drugs.

The Senate's Special Committee on Aging also requested information from Retrophin Inc and Rodelis Therapeutics, according to a statement from the panel's Republican Chairwoman Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, its top Democrat. Also on Wednesday, Democratic members of a U.S. House of Representatives investigative committee asked Republicans to call a vote to subpoena Valeant and Turing.

A pharmacy employee looks for medication as she works to fill a prescription while working at a pharmacy in New York

These Democratic leaders called for an investigation of drug prices in September, emboldened by press reports of a more than 5000 percent overnight increase in a toxoplasmosis drug made by Turing and a more than 600 percent increase in a blood pressure treatment from Valeant. That investigation, along with news that Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton found the increases "outrageous" and the release of her plan to restrict drugmaker profits, has hurt their stock prices. Drugmakers and their defenders say drugs are priced to help enable discovery and development of innovative new treatments.

The effort has not yet been taken up broadly by Republicans. Investors and analysts have said it would take a wider bipartisan push to possibly change how drugmakers price their medicines. House investigative committee Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz, who could authorize an investigation, so far has blocked it. His spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.

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waltky · Dec 12, 2015

Granny says, "Dat's right - somebody needs to wipe dat silly-ass grin off his face...

The 'most hated man in America' raises the price of drugs again
12 Dec.`15 - The news comes just after he raises the price of an effective HIV drug by more than 5000 per cent

The man who increased the cost of an effective HIV drug by 5,500 per cent has now increased the price of another form of medicine. Martin Shkreli has now increased the price of a medicine used to treat Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that can cause heart failure. Mr Shkrelis company, Turing Pharmacuticals, previously acquired the rights to the anti-HIV drug, Daraprim, before increasing the price from $13.50 to $700.

Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli bows to international outrage and vows to lower cost of aids pills he increased by 5,000%

This time Mr Shkreli has bought a majority share in KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, allowing him to apply for exclusive selling rights to KaloBios benznidazole, a common drug used to treat Chigas in South America, where it is very prevelant. It is reported by the New York Times that benznidazole currently costs between $50 to $100 for two months worth of treatment. However the New York Times believe that the cost could soon be similar to that of a hepatitis C drug, which costs anywhere between $60,000 and $100,000 per course of treatment. It is estimated 300,000 in the United States have Chagas disease.

Although the news does come as it is announced that America has suffered an outbreak of the kissing bug, which is one of the major ways Chagas disease is spread. Many health centres currently offer the anti-Chagas drug for free, with the proposed pricing no longer making treatment available to a vast part of the US and South Americas population. Mr Shkreli estimates that between 3,000 and 7,000 people will require treatment for the acute infection each year in the United States. It has also been reported that Mr Shkreli is the owner of the single-copy Wu-Tang Clan album.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...e-price-of-another-form-of-drug-a6770661.html
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Deckel · Dec 12, 2015

L_Ron_Paul said: ↑

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-daraprim-after-outrage-n431926

Well this is a disappointment. This guy was well within his rights for what he was doing and he caved in to progressive/socialist/lower-class pandering. I for one will not be buying this company's products.
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Unless you have HIV and eat undercooked pork, I doubt you would need to, so your gesture is probably meaningless.

Now, if he found a cure for cancer and charged $10K per dose and gives a 95% discount for patients who signs a sworn affidavit renouncing God and all religion, I am sure it wouldn't be the left upset with him.

Zorro · Dec 18, 2015

L_Ron_Paul said: ↑

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drug-ceo-will-lower-price-daraprim-after-outrage-n431926

Well this is a disappointment. This guy was well within his rights for what he was doing and he caved in to progressive/socialist/lower-class pandering. I for one will not be buying this company's products.
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Lawyer For Martin Shkreli Hike Fees 5,000%

A bit of humor:

A criminal lawyer representing Turing Pharmaceuticals chief Martin Shkreli has informed his client that he is raising his hourly legal fees by five thousand per cent, the lawyer has confirmed.

Minutes after Shkreli’s arrest on charges of securities fraud, the attorney, Harland Dorrinson, announced that he was hiking his fees from twelve hundred dollars an hour to sixty thousand dollars.

Shkreli, who reportedly received the news about the price hike while he was being fingerprinted, cried foul and accused his attorney of “outrageous and inhumane price gouging.”

“This is the behavior of a sociopath,” Shkreli was heard screaming.

For his part, Shkreli’s lawyer was unmoved by his client’s complaint. “Compared to what he pays for an hour of Wu-Tang Clan, sixty thou is a bargain,” he said.
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http://www.newyorker.com/humor/boro...tin-shkreli-hikes-fees-five-thousand-per-cent

waltky · Dec 30, 2015

God's retribution...

Martin Shkreli's KaloBios Pharmaceuticals files for bankruptcy
Dec. 30, 2015 -- KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., the company where infamous biotech investor Martin Shkreli was recently fired as CEO, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday.

A judge to precede the case has yet to be determined, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware. The company's stock was halted on Dec. 17, the day Shkreli was arrested on charges of securities fraud. KaloBios was granted a hearing in February over its appeal of NASDAQ's decision to delist its shares. Shkreli, 32, infamous for shepherding Turing Pharmaceuticals to a 5,000 percent price increase of an essential drug, was fired on Dec. 21 from his position as CEO of KaloBios. KaloBios said it "terminated" Shkreli as CEO. The company also said he resigned from his post as a member of its board.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc., the company where infamous biotech investor Martin Shkreli was recently fired as CEO, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday. KaloBios has been granted a hearing in February over its appeal of NASDAQ's decision to delist its shares.

Shkreli was arrested in relation to a firm he founded in 2011, unrelated to the price hike he instituted for Daraprim with Turing Pharmaceuticals. He was released after posting a $5 million bail. Prosecutors allege he illegally took stock from his biotechnology firm, Retrophin Inc., and used that to pay debts from unrelated business dealings. The Retrophin board of directors later sued Shkreli and he was ousted from the company where he served as CEO. In August, Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired Daraprim, often used to treat toxoplasmosis in people with compromised immune systems like AIDS patients, and the company immediately increased the price of the drug. The price increase raised the average treatment costs for patients from about $1,130 a year to $63,000. Certain patients may need to pay up to $634,000 each year for Daraprim treatment.

Although toxoplamosis isn't considered dangerous in people who are generally healthy, for people who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system, such as AIDS or cancer patients, the effects of the infection can be severe. Daraprim is also used to treat malaria. The embattled Shkreli received more negative backlash earlier this month when it was revealed he was the buyer of Wu-Tang Clan's one-of-a-kind album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. He paid $2 million for the only issued copy of the album, immediately placed it in a vault and said he "probably won't listen to it for years."

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/20...s-files-for-bankruptcy/7411451477671/?spt=trc
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waltky · Jan 16, 2016

House committee wants to talk with Shkreli...

U.S. House committee seeks testimony from Pharma Bro Shkreli
WASHINGTON Friday, Jan. 15, 2016 | A U.S. congressional panel has asked pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli to testify at a Jan. 26 hearing about his companys decision to raise the price of a life-saving prescription drug, according to a Republican committee staffer.

Shkreli, who became known as Pharma Bro, created a fire storm last year after his company Turing Pharmaceuticals hiked the price of a drug called Daraprim by more than 5,000 per cent. Last month, Shkreli was forced to step down as Turing CEO amid criminal and civil securities fraud charges alleging he ran a Ponzi-like scheme during his tenure at the hedge fund MSMB Capital Management and while he was the CEO of Retrophin, another drug company he previously headed. The securities fraud charges are unrelated to the drug pricing probe by the committee.

The hearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will primarily focus on Turings price spike of Daraprim, and price hikes for two of Valeant Pharmaceuticals heart medications Isuprel and Nitropress. A Democratic committee staffer told Reuters on Friday that Valeants Interim CEO Howard Schiller is also expected to appear at the hearing. A Valeant spokeswoman confirmed that Schiller will attend, and said he looks forward to testifying and that the company is cooperating with the ongoing congressional probe. An attorney for Shkreli declined to comment.

Former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli is escorted by law enforcement agents in New York after being taken into custody following a securities probe. KaloBios, the troubled drugmaker taken over by Shkreli in November, is seeking bankruptcy protection less than two weeks after his arrest on securities fraud.

Earlier this month, House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings jointly sent document requests to Valeant, Turing and Shkreli. In their requests, the lawmakers asked for documents showing each companys gross revenues and profits from the sales of the drugs in question, as well as communications by the CEOs in connection with the drugs. Since then, Turing has given tens of thousands of documents to U.S. congressional investigators ahead of the hearing, according to a Democratic committee staffer. A spokeswoman for Turing did not have an immediate comment.

The committee is expected to review another batch of documents from Valeant in the near future. The deadline for submission is Jan. 22. The House Oversight panels interest in drug pricing was sparked by Cummings, who for more than a year has called for the Republican-led panel to probe prescription drug pricing. In a statement, Cummings said he is glad there is now bipartisan support for an investigation. He said Americans are fed up with watching major drug companies rake in record profits while they continue to struggle to afford their medicines.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...mony-from-pharma-bro-shkreli/article28225093/
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waltky · Jan 22, 2016

Mum's the word...

Ex-drug exec Shkreli will not answer questions at hearing: letter
Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 - Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was on a collision course with Congress on Thursday as lawmakers warned he could be prosecuted for contempt if he does not appear next week for a hearing about drug prices.

A lawyer for Shkreli informed the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of his intent not to answer questions and asked that he be excused from appearing, committee chairman Jason Chaffetz wrote in the letter dated Wednesday. The plan to remain silent contrasts with Shkrelis prolific use of social media, where he has been outspoken on Twitter and livestream video even after his indictment last month on criminal charges of securities fraud. The Oversight Committee subpoenaed Shkreli to appear on Tuesday to discuss his decision as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals to raise the price of a life-saving medicine, Daraprim, by more than 5,000 percent.

Shkreli, 32, has said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. On Twitter, he told followers it was disgusting and insulting for lawmakers to try to subvert that right. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. The dispute appeared likely to end in one of two ways: with Shkreli appearing in Washington on Tuesday to invoke that right, or with Shkreli staying home in New York, prompting the committee to vote to hold him in contempt and setting off a potential criminal prosecution.

Shkreli resigned as chief executive officer of Turing last month after his arrest on the fraud charges. Turing had acquired Daraprim, a 62-year-old drug, and caused a public furor when it drastically increased the price.[ Fights over congressional testimony are common, especially when potential witnesses are facing criminal prosecution and their testimony could later be used against them.

Some well-known witnesses, such as former IRS official Lois Lerner and former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, refused to answer questions from Congress but were required to appear in person in front of lawmakers and cameras before invoking that right. It was unclear on Thursday whether Shkreli would make the trip to do the same. His release on bond restricts him to certain parts of New York state, and he is required to ask a judge for a waiver to travel.

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waltky · Jan 25, 2016

Judge modifies bail conditions so Shkreli can testify before Congress...

Ex-drug CEO Shkreli gets green light to appear before Congress
25 Jan.`16 - A federal judge on Monday gave Martin Shkreli, a former pharmaceuticals executive facing securities fraud charges, permission to appear at a Congressional hearing on drug pricing.

U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in Brooklyn, New York modified Shkreli's bail conditions so that he may appear by subpoena before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Shkreli has said he plans to invoke his right against self-incrimination if he attends. The hearing has been rescheduled to Feb. 4 from Jan. 26, following this weekend's snowstorm. Shkreli's $5 million bail package had limited his travel to New York, prompting his lawyers to seek the judge's "guidance" on how their client could comply with the subpoena.

Martin Shkreli (C), chief executive officer of Turing Pharmaceuticals and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc, departs U.S. Federal Court after an arraignment in Brooklyn in New York

In her order, Matsumoto admonished the lawyers that she "does not condone correspondence 'seek[ing] the Court's guidance,'" and that similar requests must be legally supported. Marcus Asner, a lawyer for Shkreli, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Shkreli, 32, stepped down last month as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals Inc following his arrest for allegedly defrauding investors in two hedge funds he once ran. The House committee has said it wants to hear Shkreli discuss Turing's decision to boost by more than 5,000 percent the price of Daraprim, which has been used for decades to treat a potentially deadly parasitic infection.

Shkreli has achieved a degree of notoriety for defending the price hike, and for a brashness that has included maintaining an active presence online, including on Twitter, even after the criminal charges were announced. While the criminal case is unrelated to Turing, Shkreli's lawyers have expressed concern that letting their client testify may expose him to criminal liability. Citing his lawyers' advice, Shkreli said in an unsworn declaration on Jan. 21 that he will say nothing to Congress "other than to identify myself and then assert the Fifth Amendment Privilege," or the constitutional protection against self-incrimination.

http://news.yahoo.com/ex-drug-ceo-shkreli-gets-green-light-appear-180958317--sector.html
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waltky · Feb 5, 2016

Granny says, "Dat's right - somebody needs to knock dat smirk off his face...

Smirking Shkreli refuses lawmakers' questions, calls them 'imbeciles'
Thu Feb 4, 2016 - Former drug executive Martin Shkreli smirked and brushed off questions about drug prices then tweeted that lawmakers were imbeciles on Thursday, when he appeared at a U.S. congressional hearing against his will.

Shkreli, 32, sparked outrage last year among patients, medical societies and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton after his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent to $750 a pill. The lifesaving medicine, used to treat a parasitic infection, once sold for $1 a pill and has been on the market for more than 60 years. At a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Shkreli repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says no person shall be compelled in any criminal case "to be a witness against himself." Wearing a sport jacket and collared shirt rather than his usual T-shirt, he responded to questions by laughing, twirling a pencil and yawning.

Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals LLC, prepares to testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on 'Developments in the Prescription Drug Market Oversight' on Capitol Hill in Washington

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, asked Shkreli what he would tell a single, pregnant woman with AIDS who needed Daraprim to survive, and whether he thought he had done anything wrong. Shkreli declined to answer. "I intend to follow the advice of my counsel, not yours," said Shkreli after South Carolina Republican Representative Trey Gowdy suggested he could answer questions that were unrelated to pending fraud charges against him. After the hearing, Shkreli's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, attributed his client's behavior to "nervous energy." Later, though, Shkreli wrote on Twitter: "Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government."

U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, who learned about the tweet while Turing Chief Commercial Officer Nancy Retzlaff was testifying, pounded his fist on the dais. The Maryland Democrat then shouted about an internal Turing document in which a staffer joked about the price increase. "You all spent all of your time strategizing about how to hide your price increase ... and coming up with stupid jokes while other people were sitting there trying to figure out how they were going to survive," Cummings said. Shkreli was arrested in December and charged with running his investment funds and companies almost like a Ponzi scheme. He has pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges, which are not related to the pricing of Daraprim. He also stepped down from Turing and was fired from KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc KBIOQ.PK.

Cummings pleaded with Shkreli to reconsider his views about drug pricing: "You can go down as the poster boy for greedy drug company executives, or you can change the system." At one point, Brafman asked to address the committee, but Chaffetz said no. Shkreli was even asked about his purchase of a limited-edition Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop album for $2 million. "Is that the name of the album? The name of the group?" Gowdy asked. After Shkreli again invoked the Fifth Amendment, Gowdy added: "I am stunned that a conversation about an album he purchased could possibly subject him to incrimination." Shkreli was allowed to leave early after he repeated he would not answer questions.

'SUCH CONTEMPT'
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waltky · Mar 21, 2016

Michael Pearson leaves over price gouging...

Valeant CEO resigns over drug company's 'improper' financial conduct
Monday 21 March 2016 - Michael Pearsons price gouging strategy is focus of two state investigations; Activist hedge fund investor William Ackman appointed to board

The chief executive of Valeant resigned on Monday, after the embattled Canadian drugmaker admitted that improper conduct by senior management caused the company to misstate its financial results. Michael Pearson, who had returned to the helm last week after more than two months sick leave with pneumonia, said he regretted the controversies the company has caused and will leave as soon as a successor is found. The company has also appointed the activist hedge fund investor William Ackman to its board. Valeant was a stock market darling under Pearson, who developed a strategy of buying up companies and dramatically increasing the price of undervalued drugs.

However, such a price gouging strategy has been attacked by both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Valeant was called before Congress to explain. Two state attorney generals have opened investigations into the companys drug pricing. While I regret the controversies that have adversely impacted our business over the past several months, I know that Valeant is a strong and resilient company, and I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership, Pearson said in a statement.

While Pearson was on leave, Howard Schiller, former chief financial officer and a board member, took over as interim CEO. On Monday the company said Schiller had been asked to leave the board but had refused. Ackman, who has lost billions of dollars since buying in early last year, said he would be more closely involved. Last week the company announced it would not hit 2016 earnings targets and would need to seek waivers from lenders because of the delay in its annual report. Shares fell sharply, causing Ackman more than $700m in losses in one day. Shares rose 14% to $30.70 on Monday, following news of Pearsons exit.

http://www.theguardian.com/business...ceo-michael-pearson-resigns-financial-conduct
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waltky · Mar 28, 2016

Valeant stocks take a plunge...

Valeant CEO subpoenaed to testify before U.S. Senate panel
28 Mar.`16 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which is under scrutiny for dramatically hiking the price of older drugs, has been summoned to testify at a U.S. congressional hearing on April 27, the panel said on Monday.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing comes as the Canadian-based company is coping with a variety of federal investigations into its accounting practices that led to a restatement and delays in the filing of its annual report. Valeant said last week CEO Michael Pearson would step down, after a board committee probing the company's ties to specialty pharmacy Philidor Rx Services had found accounting problems dating back to December 2014. Billionaire William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management owns a 9 percent stake in Valeant, has joined the company's board. A spokesperson for Valeant did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts and Manhattan are probing Valeant's pricing and distribution channels, while the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its accounting and disclosure issues. The Senate committee is one of two congressional bodies that are looking into aggressive prescription drug pricing. Both committees are particularly focused on Valeant and Turing Pharmaceuticals, a private company founded by Martin Shkreli, a 32-year-old entrepreneur who has come under fire for raising the price of the drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent to $750 a pill.

In February, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a long and contentious hearing on drug pricing. At that hearing, Shkreli, who is facing unrelated securities fraud charges, asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Pearson did not testify at the hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives because he was on medical leave. Howard Schiller, Valeant's then-interim CEO and former chief financial officer, testified in Pearson's place. Since then, however, Valeant has publicly accused Schiller and the company's corporate controller with "improper conduct" which helped contribute to a misstatement of its financial results. Schiller, through his attorneys, has denied any wrongdoing.

https://news.yahoo.com/valeant-ceo-subpoenaed-testify-u-senate-panel-154957097--finance.html
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See also:

Valeant share plunge after CEO subpoenaed by Congress
Mar. 28, 2016 Shares of beleaguered Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals plunged again Monday after its CEO was subpoenaed by a congressional committee.

The Senate Aging Committee said in a statement that J. Michael Pearson, Valeant's CEO since September 2010, is among the witnesses expected to testify on April 27. The committee is holding its third hearing since December on soaring prices for prescription medicines, which are becoming unaffordable for many patients. The high prices for many drugs some costing $100,000 or more for a course of treatment also are straining the budgets of insurers and government health programs. The most expensive drugs are generally ones for cancer and rare diseases, but the trend includes many brand-name drugs that have had hefty price hikes year after year, as well as old drugs with limited competition.

Executives at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Turing Pharmaceuticals and several other drugmakers have been buying up rights to those old drugs and then jacking up prices many times over what they had cost. Executives of the companies have been invited or subpoenaed to testify at hearings on the issue held by multiple Congressional committees. Valeant is in crisis, with three ongoing federal probes into its accounting and business practices, insurers demanding bigger discounts from its inflated list prices for many of its drugs and executives leaving. Activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, one of Valeant's largest shareholders, just took over two positions on its board of directors to try to salvage the fund's investment in Valeant.

The company, based in Laval, Quebec, has repeatedly delayed filing its fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 results while a committee it appointed investigates accounting practices that resulted in the company prematurely reporting sales in late 2014 made to Valeant's former partner, the now-defunct mail-order pharmacy Philidor. Those delays put Valeant in danger of defaulting on agreements with its creditors and bondholders that require the company to file its annual financial report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission this month. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. fell 6.4 percent Monday afternoon, to $29.09.

Valeant shares have fallen steadily from a high of $263.81 last August, as its prices and accounting practices came under scrutiny. The company grew rapidly in the last several years with a spree of acquisitions, which pushed its debt to about $30 billion. Now Valeant says it will stick to modest or no price increases, which upends its business strategy, and it's in talks to sell noncore assets to pay down some of its debt. The company announced last week that Pearson, who recently returned from a two-month medical leave, would depart the company as soon as a replacement was found. Neither Pearson nor Valeant has said whether he's resigned or been fired.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4d3c...nt-share-plunge-after-ceo-subpoenaed-congress
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waltky · Apr 28, 2016

No more monkeyin' with the price of medicines...

Ackman, Valeant pledge reforms after spiking drug prices
Apr 27 2016 - Activist investor William Ackman promised U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that he will urge the board of Valeant Pharmaceuticals to reduce the high prices of four life-saving drugs that are now at the heart of two congressional probes.

Speaking before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Ackman revealed that Valeant's board will hold a conference call on Thursday to discuss the costs of heart medications Isuprel and Nitropress, as well as Cuprimine and Syprine, two drugs that are used to treat a genetic disorder that causes copper to build up in the body's organs. Valeant raised the price of Isuprel by about 720 percent and Nitropress by 310 percent, after acquiring them in 2015. The other two were raised by 5,878 percent and 3,162 percent, respectively. "My recommendation is going to be to reduce the prices," Ackman testified.

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is one of two U.S. congressional panels investigating sky-rocketing price increases of certain decades-old drugs acquired by companies including Valeant and Turing Pharmaceuticals, a company founded by Martin Shkreli. Ackman, a major Valeant shareholder, appeared Wednesday alongside the company's outgoing Chief Executive Michael Pearson and Howard Schiller, a board member and former chief financial officer. Ackman joined the board last month as Valeant faced mounting scrutiny by members of Congress, prosecutors and regulators over its drug pricing, business practices and accounting - issues that have caused its share price to plummet almost 90 percent since August.

Valeant has about $30 billion of debt and has been negotiating with creditors, some of whom issued notices of default after it missed a deadline for the filing of its financial results. Ackman said Wednesday that one of his top priorities is to protect the company from bankruptcy. Later, in response to a question from Reuters, he expressed confidence that the company will recover. There is not going to be any bankruptcy of Valeant, he said. We were in a death spiral, and we have taken steps to deal with the banks. We are going to file our 10K on time. We brought in a new CEO.

Pearson, Ackman and Schiller all told lawmakers on Wednesday they regretted Valeant's pricing decisions. "The company was too aggressive and I, as its leader, was too aggressive in pursuing price increases on certain drugs," he said. But many lawmakers on the panel appeared skeptical. They questioned Valeant's business model of investing little in research and development, and the company's practice of acquiring decades-old drugs and raising the prices.

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See also:

Valeant to pay new CEO Papa base salary of $1.5 million
Wed Apr 27, 2016 Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc's (VRX.TO) new chief executive, Joseph Papa, will receive a base salary of $1.5 million, the company said in a filing on Wednesday.

Valeant said on Monday former Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO.N) head Papa would replace Michael Pearson as its CEO.

Papa will also receive a cash payment of $8 million to make up for the equity-based compensation he forfeited in connection with the termination of his employment with Perrigo.

Valeant said in March Pearson was leaving the company, just three weeks after returning from a two-month medical leave. Pearson's base salary for full-year 2014 was $2 million and his total compensation amounted to $10.3 million, according to a regulatory filing.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-v...CN0XO2TA?mod=related&channelName=domesticNews
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Drug CEO Will Lower Price of Daraprim After Hike Sparked Outrage

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