Pharma CEOs to Blame High Costs on Middlemen in Senate Hearing

Leading pharmaceutical executives are ready to pin the blame for high drug costs on pharmacy benefit managers, setting up a potential showdown with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s demanding price reductions.

The CEOs of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson, and Merck & Co. Inc. are testifying Thursday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The hearing represents Chairman Sanders’ latest effort to reduce prescription drug prices, with the potential to reshape how prices are distributed in the US health care system, affecting costs for millions of Americans.

Drugmakers frequently point their fingers at pharmaceutical middlemen ...