On Monday, news that the SEC was investigating Valeant's ties to Philidor spooked investors and hit the company's stock hard. But Valeant itself reportedly triggered that probe.
The Canadian drugmaker asked the SEC to look into October allegations from short-seller Citron Research that Valeant used its relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor to inflate its top line, sources told Reuters. The agency's current look at Valeant is a continuation of that investigation.
Valeant has its own committee looking into those claims, too, which last week turned up Philidor-related accounting missteps totaling $58 million. So news that the SEC had the company under the lens put some investors off, sending shares to their lowest level in three years.
Meanwhile, though, CEO J. Michael Pearson--newly returned from a two-month bout with severe pneumonia--is working to restore the company's image. Tuesday, he spoke one-on-one with analysts that have more or less stood by the company throughout its rocky last few months, The Wall Street Journal reports. And though Valeant earlier this week yanked its previously stated 2016 guidance, he told them he expects a performance that resembles those initial forecasts.
"Nothing we heard changes our positive view," UBS analyst Marc Goodman wrote in a note seen by the WSJ.
On another front, Valeant is fighting back against the negative spotlight it's received over pricing practices that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently described in a television ad as "predatory."
On Tuesday, it posted a statement on its website stating that a patient featured in Clinton's ad doesn't face "significant" out-of-pocket expenditures on migraine med D.H.E. 45, and that Valeant holds less than 1% of the market thanks to cheap generics.
- get more from Reuters
- get more from the WSJ (sub. req.)
- read Valeant's statement on D.H.E. 45
Special Report: The most influential people in biopharma today - 2014 - J. Michael Pearson - Valeant
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