Images: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman, Committee on Oversight and Reform; Richard A. Gonzalez, Chairman and CEO, AbbVie.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent a memo today to all Committee Members notifying them of her intent to issue a subpoena to AbbVie for documents as part of the Committee’s ongoing investigation of drug company pricing practices.

The probe was begun in January 2019 under former Chairman Elijah E. Cummings, who sought information from a dozen drug companies that sold 19 of the most expensive medications in the US.

The goals of
the investigation have been to determine:

  • Why drug companies increase prices so dramatically
  • How they’re using the proceeds
  • What steps can be taken to
    reduce drug prices.

Two of AbbVie’s drugs are among the 19 in question.

The company’s blockbuster Humira (adalimumab) for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases is the world’s best selling drug with global revenues of $19.2 billion in 2019.

The next big seller is Imbruvica (ibrutinib) for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma and other cancers — $4.7 billion in revenue in 2019.

After more than 18 months, AbbVie has demonstrated its unwillingness to comply voluntarily with the Committee’s investigation… The volume and quality of AbbVie’s responses are inconsistent with the expected recordkeeping and decision-making processes of a large multi-national corporation regarding two of its most profitable drugs. In addition, the volume and quality of AbbVie’s responses are particularly poor in comparison to the documents produced by other companies that are the subject of the Committee’s investigation—particularly given that the Committee is examining two of AbbVie’s most profitable products.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney

AbbVie said in a statement that it has been cooperating, and would continue to cooperate, with the committee in good faith.

The company’s shares fell 3.7% on Tuesday to end at $92.24, their lowest closing level since June 15, 2020.

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Source: Equities News