The CEOs of J&J and Merck have finally committed to testifying before the Senate health committee regarding the high prices of drugs in the U.S. The hearing is set for Feb. 8.
Pictured: Front view of the Capitol building in Washington, DC/iStock, Becky Wright
Facing the threat of being subpoenaed, the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck have agreed to voluntarily testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced Friday in a press release.
Sanders, who chairs the HELP committee, noted in his announcement that J&J’s Joaquin Duato and Merck’s Robert Davis will join Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner—who previously agreed to appear before the Senate panel—in a hearing to probe the “outrageously high price of prescription drugs in the United States.”
The hearing is set for Feb. 8. The HELP committee will no longer hold a vote to decide on the subpoenas, which was slated for Jan. 31.
“Let me thank the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck for agreeing to join the CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb and voluntarily testify before the HELP committee on the high price of prescription drugs in America,” Sanders said. “The use of a subpoena was clearly a last resort and I’m delighted that these CEOs will be coming into our committee voluntarily.”
In November 2023, Sanders—backed by all Democratic members of the HELP committee—wrote to the three CEOs asking them to testify in a hearing regarding the price of prescription drugs in the U.S. The hearing was initially set for Jan. 25, 2024, but by then neither Duato nor Davis had confirmed their commitment.
Earlier this month, Sanders threatened to subpoena the two CEOs, which would have been the first time in more than 40 years that the HELP committee issued such summons.
At the time, Sanders said that he found it “absolutely unacceptable” that Duato and Davis had “refused an invitation by a majority of the members of the HELP committee,” especially since Boerner had already confirmed his attendance and the heads of Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Moderna had already voluntarily appeared before the panel.
“These CEOs may make tens of millions of dollars in compensation. The pharmaceutical companies they run may make billions in profits. But that does not give them a right to evade congressional oversight,” Sanders said.
At a Thursday press conference, Sanders expressed confidence that he would get the support needed for the subpoenas to push through—a simple majority of the HELP committee, which the chair could have secured even with only the votes of all the Democratic members.
The hearing next week is part of Sanders’ long-running aim to lower drug prices in the U.S. In March 2023, the senator called on Sanofi and Novo Nordisk to lower insulin prices in line with Eli Lilly’s efforts. The companies slashed prices soon after. In May 2023, Sanders and the HELP committee passed four new bills and many more bipartisan amendments meant to improve generic competition and help control drug pricing.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
