He told NBC News that the decision to lower the price was a reaction to outrage over the increase in the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750 per pill.
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While Shkreli told several media outlets Tuesday night that the company will reconsider the price hike, he did not specify what the drug’s new cost will be. Shkreli added. “It’s very hard stuff to understand”.
Pharmac chief executive Steffan Crausaz said yesterday that Daraprim had been subsidised for about $30, and 12 people in New Zealand took up the drug past year.
Though Shkreli, 32, has not yet confirmed to what extent the company is considering to lower the price of the drug, he assured that changes will be made within the next few weeks after proper evaluation.
The American pharmaceutical company received a flak of negative feedback from various groups, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, since the sudden price increase of Pyrimethamine – better known as Daraprim – had been announced.
In an interview that aired on “CBS This Morning” Tuesday, Shkreli originally defended why he raised the price of the drug so drastically. In an attempt to justify the price increase Mr Shkreli said that the profits would be used to fund research in to new treatments and accused the critics of not understand the pharmaceuticals industry.
This infection is really treacherous for patients who have weak immune systems, as well as pregnant women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I can see how it looks greedy”, Shkreli said, “but I think there are a lot of altruistic properties to it”.
“You have to prove that your medicine is equivalent to the active compound that’s present in the drug”, she said.
CEO Shkreli responded to criticism on twitter saying the price hike is, “A great thing for society”.
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As a part of Clinton’s plan, the monthly cap would put restrictions on what insurance companies could ask patients to pay for drugs used in the treatment of chronic or serious medical conditions.
