Inquiry zeros in on Scripps deal

WASHINGTON - A congressional panel, investigating whether the NIH should be allowed to restrain the price of drugs it co-develops with companies, has broadened the scope of its inquiry to include the ties between private companies and organizations that receive some form of federal funding.

The House subcommittee on regulation, business opportunities and energy expanded its investigation after its chairman, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., learned about a $300 million agreement that gives Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corp. right of first refusal to commercialize technology developed by Scripps Research Institute for 10 years beginning in 1997. ...