House Democrats to investigate pricing policies of 12 major drug companies

As political pressure mounts to combat drug costs, a House Oversight Committee has announced that it will probe the pricing policies of 12 major companies.  

Led by Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who leads the committee, said the goal of the investigation is to “determine why drug companies are increasing prices so dramatically, how drug companies are using the proceeds, and what steps can be taken to reduce prescription drug prices.”

The companies who have now received requests for pricing information include AstraZeneca, Teva, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, AbbVie and Mallinckrodt. Some companies were asked to provide pricing information for one of their products, while others will be asked to disclose information on several drugs.  

Democrats took over the House at the beginning of the year, vowing to make prescription drug prices one of their top priorities. 

Read the full CNBC report.