Express Scripts drops Philidor, follows similar move by CVS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the termination of Valeant's relationship with Philidor, the timing of the shutdown of Philidor operations, Valeant's plans to ensure patients' access to drugs and the potential disruption of such access and Valeant's filling of prescriptions not reimbursed by managed care plans.

Even before Citron's report, critics accused Valeant of acquiring drug developers with the intent of hiking prices and cutting spending on research.

"We know the allegations have also led them to question Valeant and our integrity, and for that I take complete responsibility".

Valeant also confirmed Philidor had agreed to close all its operations "as soon as possible, consistent with applicable laws".

It was only hours before the scheduled call that Valeant announced it had severed ties with Philidor, which together with related pharmacies represented 7 percent of Valeant's earnings for 2015.

So will Valeant, said Ackman. While Wall Street generally believed Valeant's later explanation that Philidor is a real pharmacy that it does not own, and that it only books revenue when a drug is actually dispensed, Valeant said it was appointing an ad hoc committee to investigate Philidor and weigh the future of the relationship.

Express Scripts Holding Co, the largest USA pharmacy benefit manager, is reviewing pharmacy programs run by AbbVie Inc and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd after finding questionable practices at Valeant Pharmaceuticals worldwide Inc's partner pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services.

Share prices have plunged nearly 60 percent in the past three months, wiping away billions in market capitalization. But an investigation into Valeant's drug-pricing policies and investor questions about its business practices are punishing its stock price, ...

During a conference call on Friday, Ackman said Citron Research's criticism of Valeant is "verifiably false".

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) are down by -6.28% to $104.51 in pre-market trading on Friday.

But Valeant's announcement came after a Bloomberg story reported that former workers it did not identify said they were instructed to change codes on prescriptions so that it would appear doctors required or patients wanted Valeant's more expensive brand-name drugs - and not their cheaper generic versions. CVS cited "noncompliance" with its provider agreement with the pharmacy. The company said in a statement that approximately 0.5 percent of its sales flow through the company's pharmacy. Over the past 12 months, the stock has lost -13.65% of its value. An outside spokesman for Ackman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest accusations and Valeant's proposed remedy. Critical reports in the New York Times and elsewhere have connected the model to eye-popping price hikes in niche pharmaceuticals.