Valeant Pharmaceuticals already had enough problems before yesterday – it’s under scrutiny for astronomically hiking the prices of drugs, and it’s received Justice Department subpoenas related to the company’s pricing, distribution and patient assistance programs. But the company took another blow when stock commentary site Citron Research issued a report accusing Valeant of using specialty pharmacies to store its drugs and record the transactions as sales. The Citron report, which CNBC notes comes from a company that has a controversial reputation of its own, also comes on the heels of a New York Times story earlier this week that questioned the industry’s improper use of specialty pharmacies. CNBC’s story:http://cnb.cx/1jB0US4. NYT’s story: http://nyti.ms/1NUsQwV.

Valeant quickly issued a press release calling Citron’s report erroneous, saying there is no sales benefit to any inventory it holds at specialty pharmacies: http://cnb.cx/1jB0US4. But Valeant’s situation may be putting the entire industry under a microscope. Allergan even issued a release after the Valeant news broke Wednesday to make clear it very sparingly uses specialty pharmacies. Industry analyst Ronny Gal issued a note on specialty pharmacies Wednesday, noting “the market reacted strongly” to the NYT story. The core services provided by specialty pharmacies are not illegal, Gal said. “As for immoral – it’s a matter of perspective,” he said, noting that payers often see drug companies’ use of the pharmacies as undermining their attempts to control costs through co-pays and drug tiering. Gal cautioned that the industry is “young” and “may be under regulated.”