WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today sent a letter to the pharmaceutical drug distributor H. D. Smith, requesting information about certain sales of prescription drugs.  These transactions came to the attention of the investigating committees during their review of the distribution of short-supply drugs through so-called “gray market” distribution networks.    

This letter is part of an ongoing bicameral investigation into why hospitals and other health care providers are having difficulty obtaining prescription drugs they need to treat critically ill patients suffering from cancer and other life-threatening conditions.  The investigation is looking at whether certain drug companies are exploiting drug shortages to price gouge hospitals and other health care providers. 

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