A drug that used to cost $13.50 per tablet now costs $750. Can that be justified?
By Christopher WoolfA drug that used to cost $13.50 per tablet now costs $750. Can that be justified?
By Christopher WoolfI guess some people think Daraprim access will decline instead of increase. I guarantee better access at lower prices to patients than ever.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015Hillary Clinton calls it ‘price gouging’ by the pharmaceutical industry.
But the 32-year-old CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli, sees nothing wrong with what his company just did. It took a drug that treats a deadly disease — and hiked its price by 5500 percent.
“Well, you know we needed to turn a profit on the drug,” Shkreli told Bloomberg news. “The companies before us were pretty much just giving it away.”
The drug is called Daraprim, and since 1953 it’s been a mainstay in the fight against the deadly parasitic disease, toxoplasmosis. Now the cost per pill has jumped from $13.50 to $750.
Shkreli though is unrepentant. “The spotlight on me is an interesting thing. I’m not thinking too hard about it, because I know we’re doing the right thing.”
In that interview with Bloomberg News, Shkreli defended the price hike in terms of needing to fund research and development into new treatments for toxoplasmosis.
“Remember, no-one has cared about this illness for a long time, from the pharmaceutical perspective,” Shkreli told Bloomberg. “And that’s a terrible thing if you’re suffering from toxoplasmosis. Now you have a powerful ally in our company that is looking to make new drugs for you.”
Carloyn Johnson of the Washington Post says it’s not clear how much Shkreli’s company is spending in this area; it’s not a publicly traded company.
Clinton, a Democratic presidential hopeful, calls this price gouging by the pharmaceutical industry, and has promised caps on costs. That’s rattled investors, with stock prices of several companies tumbling.
Clinton on Tuesday presented a comprehensive plan aimed at containing high drug prices. It includes things like a cap on out-of-pocket expenses and it would also allow the government to use its bargaining power to bring down prices.
“It’s kind of up for debate how much, or how, these would be implemented,” says Johnson. “Some of the ideas have been tried in the past and not gotten enough political backing.”
Johnson says that could be changing. “[The issue] does seem to finally have garnered political attention, perhaps because this case has just hit so many nerves.”