Valeant goes on defensive against investor critics

San Francisco

AMID an intensifying debate over drug price increases that has brought its business practices to the forefront, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc fired back at critics in the investment community, publicly revealing the benefits that it gets from some price hikes for the first time.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives are pushing to subpoena the company for documents relating to drug price increases, causing Valeant shares to tumble. Morgan Stanley chimed in last week, saying that the company is more susceptible to political scrutiny than other drugmakers because it increases list prices more opportunistically. The criticism has added volume to a small chorus of bearish investment researchers dating back months, though most major Wall Street analysts still rate the stock a "buy".