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WASHINGTON — Merck CEO Robert Davis and Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato have agreed to voluntarily testify before the Senate health committee, avoiding a threatened subpoena, the committee announced Friday.

The decision by the executives came after a public pressure campaign by Sanders to get the two executives and Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner to testify about why prices for their drugs are higher in the United States than in other countries. Sanders had scheduled a vote to subpoena the Merck and Johnson & Johnson CEOs on Jan. 31, but canceled it on Friday.

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“​​The use of a subpoena was clearly a last resort and I’m delighted that these CEOs will be coming into our committee voluntarily,” Sanders said in a written statement.

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