Dive Brief:
- Valeant announced after markets closed on Friday that it will be increasing the prices for some of its neurology, gastrointestinal and urology products.
- The specialty pharma was quick to point out the planned increases to the wholesale acquisition prices, which became effective Oct. 14, are no greater than the single digit increases it promised to limit itself to after heavy criticism of its pricing strategy.
- Increases on these products are in the range of 2% to 9%. Valeant noted the "pricing actions across its U.S. branded RX portfolio represent an increase of less than 2% within the calendar 2016 year."
Dive Insight:
Valeant appears to hope it can get ahead of further backlash by being transparent about the price increases it makes to its drug portfolio.
"We are committed to ensuring that past decisions with respect to product pricing are not repeated and that the investments we make in our R&D pipeline continue to result in innovative products that improve people's lives," said CEO Joe Papa in a statement.
The company is trying to repair its tarnished image after scandal and price-gouging accusations causes its stock price to drop nearly 90% over the course of a year. While Valeant previously traded above $250 per share, the stock now lingers near $20 apiece.
The company noted its dermatology and ophthalmology products would not undergo any pricing adjustments at this time. These units, in particular, were the areas where the company took the biggest liberties with pricing and often jacked-up prices of these drugs by more than 200%.
Still, Valeant has a long way to go before it restores investor confidence. It took the step of replacing its leadership earlier this year when Papa replaced long-time CEO Mike Pearson, and in May 2016, the company put a pricing committee in place to oversee pricing adjustments. More recently, Valeant created the Chief Quality Officer position and hired Louis Yu, previously of Perrigo.