California Governor Jerry Brown
California and Vermont have been in the forefront of the drug price debate. They have both attempted to shine a light on drug companies with outsized increases in drug prices. Teva (TEVA) and Valeant (VRX) are now on California's radar pursuant to recent price hikes:
Documents obtained by Politico show that Valeant Pharmaceuticals plans a 63% price hike on a generic glaucoma drug, while Teva Pharmaceutical Industries plans a 49% price increase for an inhaled asthma drug at the start of May. While it's unclear whether the warnings will do much to control overall drug costs, state officials hope pricing disclosures can stir up pressure against big hikes.
Certain pricing information could be disclosed on the government's website. This is likely the first step to getting drugmakers to acknowledge such price hikes and explaining the rationale behind them.
