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A special congressional committee launched an investigation of pharmaceutical pricing Wednesday, focusing on recent medication cost hikes at four companies. Amid cost complaints from patients and the medical community, the Senate Special Committee on Aging sent letters seeking information from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX), Turing Pharmaceuticals, Retrophin (RTRX) and Rodelis Therapeutics. The companies have been the subject of numerous media reports about drug pricing. (McCoy, 11/4)

Notably, the senators called for a face-to-face meeting with Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO, Martin Shkreli, “as soon as it is practicable.” A former hedge fund manager, Shkreli has become the public face of the pricing controversy, after his company raised the price of the anti-infection drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent. The drug, which Turing acquired in August, is the only U.S.-approved treatment for a deadly parasitic infection that can affect pregnant women and patients with HIV.” (Perrone, 11/4)

The senators’ letter to Valeant asks CEO Michael Pearson for more details about the company’s acquisition of the rights to sell Isuprel and Nitropress, drugs used to treat cardiac arrests, and Cuprimine, a drug used to treat Wilson’s Disease. The letter says that the price of Nitropress rose by 625% the day Valeant purchased the rights, while Isuprel’s cost rose by 820% and Cuprimine soared by 2429%. ... In the letter to Retrophin CEO Stephen Aselage, the senators asked for information on the pricing of Thiola, a drug designed to treat kidney disease. The letter says that Retrophin acquired the rights to the drug from Mission Pharmacal Co. and subsequently raised the price to $30 from $1.50 per tablet. (Farrell, 11/4)