The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4 invited seven CEOs from major drug companies to testify at a hearing about high prescription drug costs later this month. So far, four of the companies have agreed to send their executives to Capitol Hill, according to CNBC.
Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., invited leaders from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi.
The four executives scheduled to attend the Feb. 26 hearing are: Bristol Myers CEO Giovanni Caforio, MD; Merck CEO Ken Frazier; Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, PhD; and Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt, MD.
The other three drugmakers didn't immediately respond to the invite.
The Senate Finance Committee held an initial hearing on drug prices in January. During the hearing, Mr. Grassley expressed disappointment about drug executives' lack of attendance and commented he would be "more insistent" that executives show up at a subsequent meeting.