Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday it will change its name to Bausch Health Companies.
The marketing maneuver comes as chief executive officer Joseph Papa seeks to overcome criticism from lawmakers and insurers for significant increases in the price of its drugs.
“Now is the right time in our turnaround to unite our company’s core businesses, subsidiaries and brands under the Bausch Health name,” Papa said in a statement.
Two years ago, J. Michael Pearson, the company’s former CEO, fielded questions from the Senate Aging Committee on Valeant’s purchase of older drugs and subsequent price hikes.
The name change came was announced along with a 5 percent decline in revenue, to $1.9 billion, for the quarter that ended on March 31. The company posted a net loss of $2.693 billion, or $7.68 a share.
The new name will take effect in July 2018 and will include a new website and new stock ticker symbol.
