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Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli was on a collision course with Congress on Thursday as lawmakers warned he could be prosecuted for contempt if he does not appear next week for a hearing about drug prices. Shkreli, 32, has said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. On Twitter, he told followers it was "disgusting and insulting" for lawmakers to try to subvert that right. ... The dispute appeared likely to end in one of two ways: with Shkreli appearing in Washington on Tuesday to invoke that right, or with Shkreli staying home in New York, prompting the committee to vote to hold him in contempt and setting off a potential criminal prosecution. (Raymond and Ingram, 1/21)

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed [Martin] Shkreli to appear at a hearing on exorbitant drug pricing next Tuesday. Shkreli became the public face of pharmaceutical-industry greed last fall, after hiking the price of a 60-year-old drug for a rare infection by 5,000 percent. Questions emerged Thursday about whether Shkreli would even attend the hearing, in spite of the congressional subpoena. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said Shkreli has apparently not made any legal arrangements to travel to Washington, based on conversations with his attorney. (1/21)

Martin Shkreli, the former drug-company executive criticized for dramatically raising a pill’s price, has asked a congressional committee seeking his testimony to guarantee it can’t be used in a federal prosecution, according to materials reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. ... Lawyers for Mr. Shkreli have told the committee he won’t answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, according to emails between Mr. Shkreli’s lawyers and the committee. The lawyers indicated that position would change if the committee would grant Mr. Shkreli the immunity so prosecutors couldn’t use his testimony against him, according to the emails. (Rockoff, 1/21)

With many lawmakers and presidential candidates declaring open season on drug companies that have substantially jacked up the price of critically needed drugs, the pharmaceutical industry is bracing for a bruising battle this year over calls for price restraints and other reforms. (Pianin, 1/21)