Here are seven highlights:
1. The committee sent letters in November to various firms seeking information about their pricing practices.
2. In a letter to Turing, the committee implores why the company raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet.
3. The committee asked Valeant why it increased the price of Isoproterenol from $4,489 for 25 ampules to $36,811 for 25 ampules, and nitroprusside from $257 per vial to $805.61 per vial.
4. Additionally, the committee asked two other companies, Rodelis Therapeutics and Retrophin, to give pricing information.
5. The members will use the information to see if the prices impact patients’ access to the drugs.
6. Many healthcare professionals worry the payer mergers enable monopoly pricing, with drug spending increasing by 11 percent in 2014.
7. Gerard Anderson, PhD, Johns Hopkins University professor of health policy and management, will address the Senate committee to call for an expedited FDA review for generic drugs when there is a lack of a competitor on the market.
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