Senate committee talks Turing—“My biggest challenge is to not lose my temper”

[LiberalArkie]

by Beth Mole

In the first of what will be a series of hearings on sudden price hikes of off-patent drugs, the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday made no attempt to veil its contempt for Turing Pharmaceuticals and its ilk.

“My biggest challenge today, is to not lose my temper,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), ranking member of the committee, said in her opening statement. “The facts that are underlying this hearing are so egregious that it is hard not to get emotional about it.”

Bipartisan committee to probe Turing and its ilk about pricing practices
McCaskill went on to openly mock Martin Shkreli, CEO and founder of Turing, for callously raising prices while spending millions to be the sole owner of a Wu-Tang Clan album. (Later in the hearing, she simply referred to Shkreli as “Mr. Wu-Tang.”)

The committee, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), announced last month that it would investigate a string of recent price hikes of off-patent drugs, which appeared to be “little more than price gouging.” Specifically, the committee requested financial documents, communications, and pricing information from four companies: Turing Pharmaceuticals, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Retrophin, Inc., and Rodelis Therapeutics. Turing and Valeant, in particular, have made headlines for raising prices of off-patent, life-saving drugs, triggering widespread outrage. None of the companies have provided a complete set of requested documents to the committee yet.

Snip

http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/12/senate-committee-fumes-over-drug-price-hikes-mocks-turings-shkreli/

[Sherman A1]

1. There are times I really appreciate

McCaskill as my Senator and others not so much. In this case I have to to her.