Valeant forms internal committee to oversee drug pricing

May 5 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX)
VRX.TO , which has acknowledged mistakes in its drug pricing
practices amid U.S. congressional probes, said on Thursday it
has formed a new committee to oversee pricing of the company's
drugs.
The Patient Access and Pricing Committee will initially be
chaired by Joseph Papa, Valeant's new chairman and chief
executive officer. The committee is made up of a
team of Valeant employees including doctors, scientists and
other executives.
Valeant said that, among other issues, the committee will
review the pricing of Nitropress, Isuprel, Cuprimine and Syprine
- four products at the center of a hearing last week before the
Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Valeant raised the price of Isuprel by about 720 percent and
Nitropress by 310 percent, after acquiring the heart medications
in 2015. Prices of the other two drugs, used to treat a genetic
disorder that causes copper to build up in the body's organs,
were raised by 5,878 percent and 3,162 percent, respectively.
"Valeant has made mistakes in how it priced its drugs in the
past, and we are committed to ensuring those mistakes are not
repeated," CEO Papa said in a statement. "This new committee
will take a disciplined approach to reviewing the company's
pricing of drugs, and will consider the impact on patients,
doctors, and our health care industry partners."
The company said that since last week's hearing, it has
reached out to hospitals to follow up on concerns raised that
they had not received expected discounts on Nitropress and
Isuprel.
Valeant, whose share price has plunged almost 90 percent
since August, 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.