Sanders targets pharma CEOs to testify in Senate, but some see 'retaliation' for lawsuit against Biden admin

 Pharma companies defend Sanders' subpoena plans and argue it's a form of "retaliation" for the ongoing lawsuit

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced this week that he plans to hold a vote on Jan. 31 to summon the CEOs of the two big pharma companies to a hearing on drug pricing before the Department of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). Making. ) The committee declined to testify last year.

Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato and Merck CEO Robert Davis are subpoenaed to testify on why their drug costs are "significantly higher" than in other countries, the announcement said.

But some officials see the pending subpoena as retaliation for the court battle over Medicare price negotiations.

"It is simply unacceptable that the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck have declined the invitation of the majority of the House Committee's members to appear before Congress about the extremely high prices of prescription drugs," Sanders said. "These CEOs can make millions of dollars in compensation. The pharmaceutical companies they run can make billions in profits."

According to a letter from Johnson & Johnson attorney Bryan, in November, Sanders requested testimony from Duato and Davis on the drug's price, but he insisted that "it was necessary to address Johnson & Johnson's position with respect to the issues." and a senior pharmaceutical executive "in the best position to provide" should be presented. D. Smith sent Sanders this week a subpoena in response to the announcement.

"Johnson & Johnson offered to make the most appropriate senior pharmaceutical executive available for the hearing to address and provide Johnson & Johnson's position regarding the issues raised in your invitation letter," Smith wrote. "During these discussions, Johnson & Johnson also made clear its concerns with the direction the Committee is taking regarding the hearing, including the reason that the Company's Chief Executive is not an appropriate witness for this hearing . We appreciate the opportunity to reiterate the concerns we have already made known to your staff over the past three months, and we urge you to consider allowing the Committee to hear from the appropriate executive on these topics "

The two pharma companies, along with other companies, are currently suing to stop Medicare drug price negotiations under Biden's Inflation Cut Act. Merck's executive vice president Jennifer Zachary also sent a letter to Sanders this week suggesting that the request for the CEO to testify before the Senate panel was a form of "retaliation" for the ongoing trial.

“We appreciate that many members of the committee have expressed disagreement with our lawsuit, and we respect their good-faith views. Your public criticism of the companies and hearing of witnesses to challenge the IRA The comments indicate that invitations to testify, Zachary wrote, were "extended as retaliation for companies exercising their constitutional right to seek relief in court."

Joe Grogan, who served as a domestic policy adviser to former President Trump, told Fox News Digital in an interview that "the CEO doesn't have subject matter experts in the company who can explain all the different aspects of the pharmaceutical supply chain" and others in the conversation. Governments.

"To put a good spin on it, it's completely un-American," Grogan said. “I mean, these companies have every right to take advantage of the courts, they have every right to sue and for him to target these three companies is not a coincidence.”