“It is indisputable that generic drug prices have soared recently”, Imprimis CEO Mark L. Baum said in a statement.
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The Associated Press is reporting that a maker of compounded drugs will begin selling Daraprim, whose price was famously jacked up to $750 per pill by one of history’s greatest assholes, for the whopping price of $0.99 per pill.
Turing CEO Martin Shkreli became “the most hated man in America” last month after raising the cost of the drug, commonly used to treat parasitic infections in immunocompromised patients, from $13.50 per pill to a staggering $750 per dose, claiming the company’s exorbitant price hike was justified.
The start-up drugmaker paid Impax Laboratories $75 million in August for rights to Daraprim, which treats a rare parasitic infection called toxoplasmosis that affects pregnant women, cancer patients and AIDS patients.
“In response to this recent case and others that we will soon identify, Imprimis is forming a new program called Imprimis Cares which is aligned to our corporate mission of making novel and customizable medicines available to physicians and patients today at accessible prices”, Baum said. A big reason why Shkreli could raise the price so much is that there is no generic competition since the drug serves a limited population.
Physicians can prescribe such compounded drug formulations when commercially available drugs do not meet the needs of a given patient, in accordance with federal and state law, Imprimis explained. Pyrimethamine works to block the folic acid synthesis of the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. Even generic manufacturers still have to get FDA approval for the drugs they plan to market. Many of these increases are a result of business strategies being employed by newer drug companies ensure a steady revenue stream right away. Since the implementation of the ACA, those with chronic illnesses who purchase the newer plans have drug coverage and maximum out-of-pocket amounts. As a result, a huge chunk of the cost for the higher-price medication would be passed on to insurance companies and taxpayers.
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Compounded drugs are typically made to fill a doctor’s prescription for an individual patient, sometimes because the mass-produced version is in short supply or completely unavailable and sometimes to allow for customized formulations or dosages.
