Dive Brief:
- At the end of October, Valeant severed its ties to the specialty pharmacy it had been using, Philidor, because of a scandal related to alleged phantom payments and fraudulent approaches to obtaining reimbursement.
- Valeant is now setting up a new program for its dermatology drugs, which will be available to patients via major pharmacy chains, as well as independent pharmacies.
- According to Valeant's CEO, Michael Pearson, patients with commercial insurance or those who pay cash will have access to the drugs with a zero copay. Those with government insurance are excluded from this deal.
Dive Insight:
Talk about whitewashing, sanitizing, and backtracking. Both Valeant and Philidor have made statements to suggest that each company is completely innocent with respect to the allegations that have come out about Philidor's activities. On the Valeant side, when the allegations came out, the Canadian drug giant vigorously denied the claims and set up a review committee to audit its relationship with Philidor. Soon afterwards, after reports surfaced claiming that Philidor used aggressive and shoddy tactics to ensure sales of Valeant drugs, the latter decided sever its ties to Philidor.
On the other side, Philidor CEO Andy Davenport told employees that the company would begin shutting down operations over its inability to maintain its relationship with Valeant. And on a final note, he told his employees that they could "hold their heads high" for a job well done.