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Drug pricing, a key issue in the federal investigation of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., has been a frequent focus of federal prosecutions and whistleblower lawsuits in recent years. Pharmaceutical companies have paid more than $3 billion in fines to resolve pricing cases over the past decade, according to Patrick Burns, co-director of Taxpayers Against Fraud, a group that promotes whistleblowing. (Rockoff, 10/15)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. shares dropped after U.S. prosecutors issued subpoenas seeking information on drug-pricing decisions, signaling fresh scrutiny just as beleaguered biotechnology investors saw signs that the cost debate may fade away. The drugmaker recently received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and another from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office seeking information on its patient assistance programs, drug distribution and pricing decisions, Laval, Quebec-based Valeant said in a statement on Wednesday night. Valeant shares fell 4.7 percent to $168.87 at the New York close. (Cordeiro and Kitamura, 10/14)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals, one of the drugmakers in the eye of the storm over rising prescription medicine prices, says two federal prosecutors have subpoenaed documents on its drug pricing and other policies. The federal subpoenas sent to the Canadian drugmaker, disclosed late Wednesday, likely won't be the last to hit the industry, according to one analyst. (Johnson, 10/15)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has drawn the ire of congressional Democrats and garnered negative headlines over its decision to exponentially boost the price of two old drugs earlier this year. But the prices themselves are probably not the focus of a legal probe. The price hikes may be the heart of the political controversy — but legal experts said the federal probe disclosed late Wednesday more likely is looking at possible violations of the False Claims Act, which could include anti-kickback violations or off-label promotion. (Norman and Karlin, 10/15)