. >> abc7 news reporter maggie ruely has the latest. >> reporter: the world's biggest drug makers arethe hot seat on capitol hill. >> pharma executives, all of you that are here today, are here because the way you've been doing business is unacceptable. >> reporter: for the first time, republican and democratic senators grilled seven top pharmaceutical executives on soaring price of prescriptions in the u.s. >> it is repugnant when ailing patients are forced to choose between filling the next prescription or putting food on the table because they can't t afford both. >> reporter: the exec tichlutiv acknowledged the challenges. >> medicines can't make a difference if the patients who need them can't afford them. we understand the concerns about the cost of health care. >> reporter: but say that high costs support the research for those lifesaving drugs and warn that heavy handed regulation will backfire. ailments that are the hardest to treat like alzheimer's and cancer. >> the system itself is complex and interdependent, and no one company can unilaterally lower list prices without ru