UPDATE 2-Valeant to increase hospital discounts for two heart drugs

(Adds comment from Cummings, share price)
May 16 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX)
VRX.TO VRX.N said on Monday it would raise the discounts to
hospitals on its heart drugs Nitropress and Isuprel to as much
as 40 percent off list prices after shareholder William Ackman
pledged to revisit controversial price increases on the
treatments.
Valeant has been criticized by doctors and is being
investigated by the U.S. Senate after having raised the price of
Isuprel by about 720 percent and Nitropress by 310 percent after
it bought the drugs from Marathon Pharmaceuticals in 2015.
The Canadian drugmaker, which acknowledged aggressive
pricing practices during a U.S. congressional probe late last
month, earlier this month formed a committee to oversee drug
pricing policies.
Valeant had previously pledged to give hospitals
volume-based discounts of up to 30 percent off the price, but
U.S. Senators said during last month's hearing that it believed
hospitals were not receiving the after-market discounts.
The company said on Monday all hospitals were eligible for a
rebate of at least 10 percent, with rebates totaling 20 percent,
30 percent or 40 percent based on the volume purchased during a
quarter, Valeant said.
Valeant did not cut the list prices of the drugs.
The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives'
oversight panel said on Monday that he was meeting today with
Valeant's new Chief Executive Joseph Papa to discuss how the
pricing changes will be made and broader pricing policy issues.
"This is a small step in the right direction, but it comes
nowhere close to fully addressing this critical problem,"
Representative Elijah Cummings said in a statement.
Last month, activist investor Bill Ackman, whose investment
in Valeant has lost more than $1 billion in value, testified to
the Senate that the company was going to look at price cuts
after it formed a committee.
The Senate also investigated the price increases on two
other Valeant drugs, Syprine and Cuprimine, which are used to
treat a rare genetic disorder called Wilson's Disease.
Valeant shares fell 45 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $25.45 in
midday New York trading. They peaked last August at $263.70.