Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., which has come under heavy fire from politicians because of dramatic price increases for its drugs, said it had formed a committee that will be responsible for those prices going forward.

"Valeant has made mistakes in how it priced its drugs in the past, and we are committed to ensuring those mistakes are not repeated," said new Valeant Chief Executive Joseph Papa, who took the reins of the company from Michael Pearson.

The company said its new committee will be led by Mr. Papa and will include Valeant employees including doctors, scientists and other executives. Valeant said the committee will review its drug prices and "will consider the impact on patients, doctors and our healthcare-industry partners."

Last week, Mr. Pearson and other Valeant brass faced sharp questions from a Senate committee that criticized Valeant's drug pricing and distribution practices.

The Senate committee has been investigating dramatic price increases imposed by Valeant and other firms, including those for cardiac-care drugs Isuprel and Nitropress. Valeant acquired Isuprel and Nitropress in 2015 and quickly raised their prices by 525% and 212%, respectively. The prices of 16 Valeant drugs have been raised this year, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) said. Under questioning, Mr. Pearson was unable to name a U.S. drug that Valeant had acquired without subsequently raising its price.

Valeant director and major shareholder William Ackman testified before the committee that the company would lower its drug prices. Mr. Pearson, who oversaw the rise and fall of Valeant, told the committee Valeant's strategy of buying and increasing prices on many drugs was a mistake.

Shares of Valeant declined 1.4% to $34 in after-hours trading. They have fallen by two-thirds so far this year

Write to Nathan Becker at nathan.becker@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 17:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Valeant Pharma (NYSE:VRX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Valeant Pharma Charts.
Valeant Pharma (NYSE:VRX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Valeant Pharma Charts.