Dive Brief:
- Faced with increased scrutiny over pricing practices, Valeant has hired Vianovo, a crisis public affairs firm, and Covington & Burling attorney Robert Kelner. This signals a distinctly different approach to Capitol Hill for Valeant, which does not lobby aggressively.
- As the pressure of Congressional inquires has increased, Valeant's stock has lost more than 60% of its value over the past three months.
- The Senate Special Committee on Aging recently held a hearing scrutinizing the sudden price increases of two heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress, after Valeant acquired them. The Committee requested the company provide documentation on their decision to price the drugs higher.
Dive Insight:
In August, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) formally started an inquiry process into why Valeant's recently acquired heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress, increased by more than 300% in price. Since then, Valeant has stumbled further following a debacle over its relationship with the specialty pharmacy Philidor, and a report from Citron Research dubbing Valeant "the pharmaceutical Enron."
Valeant's stock price has declined by 75% since its troubles began. Vianovo and Robert Kelner bring a great deal of experience to the table in weathering pharmaceutical company crises. Valeant will be counting on that experience to help them through this ongoing crisis.