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# 3 Drug Companies Obstructed Investigation: Cummings
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/3-drug-companies-obstructed-investigation-cummings/
- Published: 2019-08-14T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T01:43:49.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5144772

House Committee on Oversight and Reform chairman **Elijah Cummings** (D-MD) and Senate Budget Committee ranking member **Bernie Sanders** (I-VT) have written to three drug companies asking about their pricing of generic drugs and opening an investigation into what Cummings and Sanders say is the companies’ coordinated obstruction of an earlier congressional investigation. A Cummings [news release](https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/cummings-and-sanders-seek-answers-on-drug-companies-apparent-obstruction-of?ref=fdaweb.com) (includes links to letters to the companies) says letters went to Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Mylan, and Teva.

“We are writing once again to obtain the information requested in 2014,” the letters say. “This information is critical to our investigation and necessary to develop and pursue legislative policies that address anti-competitive behavior in the generic pharmaceutical industry.”

The release notes that on 5/10, Connecticut and 43 other states filed a complaint alleging price fixing by the three companies and other drug manufacturers. The complaint said the manufacturers coordinated to inflate the prices of several drugs that were the subject of Cummings’ and Sanders’ 2014 investigation.

Cummings reports that Connecticut officials obtained a 10/3/14 e-mail from a Mylan representative to the then-CEO of Heritage discussing how the two companies plus Teva planned to coordinate their responses to the congressional request for information. According to Cummings, the Mylan representative wrote that “the consensus at this point is that the responses will be ‘polite f-u’ letters.” The e-mail also said the companies were planning “to schedule a conference call to coordinate the response and make sure everyone is on the same page.”

In their latest letter, Cummings and Sanders wrote, “Not only did your company’s apparent obstruction undermine our investigation, but it may have caused further harm to patients and healthcare providers by delaying the discovery of evidence about the companies’ price-fixing. Furthermore, obstructing or evading a congressional investigation, including withholding or concealing information, is a violation of federal law.”