U.S. congressman seeks interviews with Valeant employees tied to Philidor

By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The top Democrat on a U.S.
House of Representatives investigative panel is requesting
interviews with a handful of executives at Valeant
VRX.TO VRX.N who were directly involved in the operations of
specialty pharmacy Philidor, according to a Nov 16 letter seen
by Reuters.
In the letter, House Oversight Ranking Democrat Elijah
Cummings asks Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson (L:PSON) to make employees
Gary Tanner, Bijal Patel, and Alison Pritchett available for
"transcribed" interviews.
"Troubling new allegations suggest that a group of Valeant
employees helped launch Philidor's business in 2013 and have
remained involved in its daily operations," Cummings wrote.
"These allegations suggest that Valeant employees may have
been personally involved in questionable billing practices that
led Valeant to cut ties with Philidor last month."
Cummings' letter comes just a few days after Reuters
reported about how several top Valeant employees worked closely
with the founders of Philidor Rx Services to set up the business
and expand its operations. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N13706P
Two Valeant employees, for instance, were copied on a
November 2014 email which contained an attachment explaining how
Philidor employees could bill the highest amount an insurance
company was willing to pay by resubmitting rejected claims at
different price points.
The email, reviewed by Reuters, was sent to Tanner and
Patel, who both used pseudonyms for their communications within
Philidor. Reuters also reported that Pritchett was involved in
building relationships with specialty pharmacies.
Valeant first disclosed its ties to Philidor late last
month, amid concerns over the pharmacy's tactics to get insurers
to pay for Valeant medications. It has since severed ties with
the pharmacy, saying it has "lost confidence" in Philidor after
questions about its business practices.
Cummings is one of many Democrats in the U.S. House who have
been pushing for hearings to investigate Valeant, among others,
over its rising drug prices.
He has been trying to convince the Republican-led committee
to issue subpoenas to Valeant, and has previously accused the
company of ignoring his requests for information.
Earlier this month, meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Special
Committee on Aging launched a new bipartisan probe into drug
pricing at Valeant and Turing. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Z16D
Valeant is also facing investigations by prosecutors in New
York and Massachusetts over its drug pricing and programs that
provide financial assistance to help patients cover
out-of-pocket expenses for their medications.