Credit: Phil Roeder.

The dark days for Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) continued on Wednesday 28 April, with outgoing CEO J. Michael Pearson testifying before the Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding his company’s drug pricing practices — most notably regarding cardiovascular products Nitropress and Isuprel, which were acquired in February 2015 and subsequently had their prices increased by 525% and 212%, respectively.

Pearson’s prepared testimony before the Senate Committee read as a mea culpa, expressing regret for the way Valeant aggressively priced its products post-acquisition:

“Let me state plainly that it was a mistake to pursue, and in hindsight I regret pursuing, transactions where a central premise was a planned increase in the price of the medicines… In retrospect, we relied too heavily on the industry practice of increasing the price of brand name drugs in the months before generic entry.” (emphasis added)

Pearson added, “[A]nd so I recognize that we therefore need to work to regain the confidence of Congress, the public, doctors, and patients.”

While suggesting that Valeant’s pricing strategy may not have been in the best interests […]