Valeant's Price Cut To Hospitals Just Lip Service?

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX and its top management officials told a group of U.S. senators the company is open to slashing the price of some of its drugs.

Valeant executives suggested a 30 percent discount on some of its drugs for hospitals. However, the cost for many life-saving drugs would still be thousands of percentage points higher prior to the company acquiring the rights to said drugs.

According to The New York Times, several prestigious hospitals are still waiting to hear from the company. The publication reported that the Cleveland Clinic, widely seen as the top heart hospital in the country, may be receiving the silent treatment from Valeant.

"I think we definitely would be among the top users," Scott Knoer, the chief pharmacy officer at the Cleveland Clinic told New York Times. The two drugs, Nitropress and Isuprel, are commonly used to treat heart patients, and their prices shot up last year after Valeant acquired them. The clinic spent more than $5.3 million on the two drugs in 2015. "I would assume we would be on that list."

Related Link: 4 Ways To Play Today's Volatility In Valeant

New York Times added that Johns Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic and New York-Presbyterian have all confirmed that there have been no price updates from Valeant.

"Is this just lip service?" Erin Fox, a pharmacist that negotiates drug prices with companies on behalf of the University of Utah Health Care System asked. "Or are we going to have another hearing in six weeks?"

Meanwhile, Valeant CEO Joseph Papa said on Wednesday a pricing committee gathered to discuss changes it plans to make.

"What we're now doing is to resolve some of those difficulties that some of the players have experienced," he said. "I now believe we've got a solution to this question, and I look forward to being able to announce this."