United States Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Bernie Sanders announced in a statement that CEOs from Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. Inc. will be joining Bristol Myers Squibb Co. CEO Chris Boerner at a hearing related to "outrageously high price of prescription drugs" in the country.
"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. The use of a subpoena was clearly a last resort and I’m delighted that these CEOs will be coming into our committee voluntarily," Sanders commented.
Earlier, Big Pharma sued the Biden administration, claiming that price negotiation hinders innovation, which further reflects on customers. The White House, on the other hand, believes that these arguments are invalid.