Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced on October 14 it had initiated a series of wholesale price increases for drugs in three portfolios.
Treatments in the neurology, gastrointestinal, and urology portfolios would see an increase ranging between 2 and 9 percent effective immediately. Wellbutrin XL, Ruconest, Solesta, and Xifaxan are some of the product offerings that will be impacted by this change.
Also, the company noted its ophthalmology and dermatology products will not experience any price adjustments this year.
“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 Joseph Papa, Valeant’s CEO, in a statement.
Papa explained his company considered, “overall market dynamics along with the impact of any price increase on patients, doctors, and our health care industry partners,” when making this decision. He elaborated that he felt this was a responsible move consistent with Valeant’s commitment in guaranteeing patients have access to important medications at an affordable price.
However, Wells Fargo analyst David Maris appeared skeptical of this plan, reported FiercePharma.
“While the company seems to us to be trying to position this as some sort of modest increase, we note that these price increases come on top of excessive price increases taken in previous years,” wrote Maris in an investment note to his clients.
Plus, Valeant had raised the price of three ophthalmology products in September despite this announcement so Maris said in his note he was unsure of how to reconcile this statement with those price hikes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The embattled drug company is still in the middle of a turn-around after a rough year where it came under scrutiny for its drug pricing policies and a relationship with a specialty pharmacy called Phillidor.
It’s scheduled to announce its third quarter earnings on November 8th.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
