STAT+: Lawmakers and PhRMA trade accusations of ‘misleading’ information on drug price hikes

"There is no good explanation for drug manufacturers’ behavior other than corporate profiteering,” lawmakers argue in a letter sent to PhRMA and shared with STAT.

A group of congressional lawmakers is accusing the pharmaceutical industry’s leading trade group of providing “misleading information” or simply failing to answer questions they posed this month about prescription drug pricing, the latest flare-up over the divisive pocketbook issue.

The lawmakers — including  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and others — had asked PhRMA to explain why prices rose an average of 5% in January for many top-selling medicines. They cited analyses conducted by academics at the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University, and also sought information about various costs incurred by drug companies that boosted their prices.

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