Turing will drop price of Daraprim following outrage
pharmafile | September 24, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Daraprim, Impax Laboratories, Martin Shkreli, Turing Pharmaceuticals, toxoplasmosis
Martin Shkreli, whose company Turing Pharmaceuticals increased the price of Daraprim more than fifty-fold overnight, has been forced to backpedal following widespread anger, saying he would now lower the cost of the life-saving medication.
Although entrepreneur Shkreli has not confirmed what the new price would be, the decision to lower the cost was a reaction to the outrage caused over the increase in the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
Shkreli says: “Yes it is absolutely a reaction – there were mistakes made with respect to helping people understand why we took this action, I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people.”
Turing had claimed in a previous statement earlier in the week that the price increase that had been reported was based on an “unlikely to occur” 52-week treatment course.
Meanwhile, company CCO Craig Rothenberg has stepped down after just two months in the role as the company faces a backlash for the price hike.
New York-based Turing bought the manufacturing rights to the drug for $55 million from Impax Laboratories in August, immediately raising the price.
Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii which is an obligate, intracellular, parasitic protozoan. The relatively rare infection is predominantly dangerous for people who have weakened immune systems.
Shkreli had argued that the small number of patients using Daraprim meant the effect of the price increase would be minimal, and that the additional profits would have been used to develop better treatment for toxoplasmosis that have fewer side effects. He added that drugs like Daraprim would not be available if small companies cannot achieve a return on their investment.
Both The Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association have objected to the price increase, saying “this cost is unjustifiable for the medically-vulnerable patient population in need of this medication.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was among those who expressed anger over the price increase, and she outlined a plan that would limit how much patients have to pay out-of-pocket for medications each month.
Shkreli acknowledged that the cost to produce the drug is low — but said this fact does not take into account “the quality control, the regulatory costs, and all of the other things that come with having a drug company.”
Yasmita Kumar
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