Few fireworks as pharma chiefs defend drug prices in Congress

Buyers of pharmaceutical stocks are watching closely as the heads of some of the world’s biggest drugmakers give evidence before the US Congress on their companies’ pricing practices.

The chief executives of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) answered a call from senators to give evidence to an influential Senate committee on Tuesday.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the US Senate Finance Committee, set the tone for questioning in his prepared remarks, stating: "You pharma executives are here because the way you do business is unacceptable and unsustainable.”