US Lawmakers Question Drug Makers Over Apparent Obstruction Of Price Increase Probe

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2019) US Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Elijah Cummings are demanding answers from three pharmaceutical companies for obstructing their congressional investigation into anti-competitive behavior in the generic pharmaceutical industry, the House Oversight and Reform Committee said in a press release.

"Cummings and Sanders also requested information regarding the companies' apparent efforts to stonewall the 2014 investigation, in order to obtain a more detailed understanding of what specific actions took place to impede efforts, thwart the ability of Congress to enact legislative reform, and jeopardize patients access to generic drugs," the release said on Wednesday.

In 2014, the lawmakers sent letters to Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Mylan N.V., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to get information on their companies' pricing of generic drugs, the release said.

In May, the release added, a complaint was filed in a US court by 44 states accusing the three drug companies and other drug manufacturers of coordinating to inflate the drug prices of several drugs that were being investigated by Sanders and Cummings.

The prices for some of the drugs in the congressional investigation had risen by more than 8,281 percent between October 2013 and April 2014, the release said.