Daraprim price jump raises concerns among ID groups, providers ($13.50 to $750 tablet)

Healio ^ | September 17, 2015

[SMGFan]

A recent spike in the price of Daraprim and a potential issue of appropriate supply has raised concerns among the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the HIV Medicine Association and health care providers regarding the well-being of immunocompromised patients with barriers to care. Acquired by Turing Pharmaceuticals on Aug. 10, Daraprim (pyrimethamine) is part of first-line and alternate treatment regimens for the parasitic disease toxoplasmosis, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The drug was approved by the FDA in 1953 and is often necessary, along with a sulfonamide and leucovorin, to treat toxoplasmosis patients with conditions that compromise their immune systems such as HIV.

Since its acquisition, the price of pyrimethamine has increased from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet, according to IDSA and HIVMA. In an open letter to Turing, the organizations urged the pharmaceutical company to revise its pricing strategy for the generic medication

[SMGFan]

There are other stories at New York Times & USA Today

[SMGFan]

“Company hikes price 5000% for drug that fights complication of AIDS, cancer” USAToday

“A Huge Overnight Increase in a Drug’s Price Raises Protests” NYTimes

https://www.google.com/#q=daraprim

[RegulatorCountry]

What plausible reason is there for this drug to have increased in price to such a bizarre degree? They’re just begging to lose their patent rights, imho, feeding right into the mindset of those who favor such a thing.

[sparklite2]

“barriers to care”

Is this a construction of political usefulness?

[43north]

Often a slimy pharmaceutical company will alter a generic drug in some minor way or add another ingredient that has no effect on the actions of the drug. Then they apply for and are granted a new patent and they can jack the price up as much as they want. In the past 5 years this has happened to generic Donnatal (which has been around for over 80 years) and the generic antibiotic doxycycline (which has been off-patent since around 1990). This is truly the dark side of the pharmaceutical industry.

[Digger]

The three most corrupt American organizations - 1-the government, 2- the unions, 3- the pharma industry.

[sparklite2]

In the case at hand, the CEO is an ex-hedge fund manager who is grasping at a big return to pay back some of his furious hedge fund investors. He is also suing a company who fired him for $27 million in severance.

If I understand it correctly, and I may not, the drug in question was patented over sixty years ago and would seem ripe for generic at this price. But the company bypasses pharmacies and strictly controls distribution to hospitals which apparently makes it very difficult to reverse engineer a generic.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

You have to wonder just how stupid someone has to be to do this.

In the days of government overreach, abuse in control coupled with news/social media making this an instant headline you have to wonder.... what room full of people thought this was a good idea?

I know drugs are expensive to do R&D for, I get why new drugs to market have insane prices. When you’re doing this to a drug developed in the 50’s though you have to be dumber than a box of rocks.

[RegulatorCountry]

It’s not going to hold, ripe for demagoguery given the patient base, and a 5000% increase is going to be very difficult to defend.

[freeangel]

“It’s not going to hold, ripe for demagoguery given the patient base, and a 5000% increase is going to be very difficult to defend”

Yep. The AIDS “defenders” will not tolerate this. Expect big demonstrations—maybe, eve, an AIDS Lives Matter movement.

[headstamp 2]

Hell, anybody who uses a steroidal product has seen ridiculous price increases also.

I was told by the Pharmacist that there have been a number of mergers and closings of generic manufacturers that caused it.

[exDemMom]

I wonder what the cost of raw materials is for the drug.

If their cost has gone up drastically, then the drug price has to go up. This could explain why the original company that had the drug sold it.

Given the length of time since the FDA approved this drug, it has not been under patent protection for a long time. Any generic manufacturer could make this drug. But if the raw materials are scarce and expensive, no one will make it cheaply.

On the other hand, the synthesis of this drug does not look very complicated, and it is described in the patents. *Anyone* can look up a patent and see how the drug is made. Thus, any generic manufacturer can make this drug, and if they see a market and can undersell Turing Pharmaceuticals, they stand to make a nice profit.

There are shortages of many drugs right now, and a large part of that is due to government interference—rules and regulations that do little to increase safety, but cost a lot for compliance.

[TWhiteBear]

I understand the focus on aids, but toxoplasmosis is a serious disease in itself. Often called ‘cat scratch fever’ it can be very harmful for infants infected by the mother.
My wife stayed away from cats and kitty litter boxes while she was pregnant.
A lot of people have toxoplasmosis, even in the US.
‘Young children and immunocompromised people, such as those with HIV/AIDS, those taking certain types of chemotherapy, or those who have recently received an organ transplant, may develop severe toxoplasmosis. This can cause damage to the brain (encephalitis) or the eyes (necrotizing retinochoroiditis).[15] Infants infected via placental transmission may be born with either of these problems, or with nasal malformations, ‘
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
An arbitrary 5000% increase in price for this drug is unconscionable.
Call your Congressman.
TWB

[Fightin Whitey]

One can only imagine how much more we all pay in health care costs because of the 1000s of wanton a-holes who contract AIDs.

[Cboldt]

-- They're just begging to lose their patent rights ... --

Patent is long expired. This is a genric drug. Anybody can make it, the only license required is FDA approval.

[Bratch]

The three most corrupt American organizations - 1-the government, 2- the unions, 3- the pharma industry.

What a coincidence!

Those were the 3 prime movers and shakers of the Obamacare legislation.

[xp38]

Sort of reminds of what VW is now accused of with their cars knowing when they are being tested and giving off false data to fool the testers. The EPA is not amused.

[Dawn53Fl]

You’re right about pharmaceutical shenanigans. A drug used for leukemia in Europe (alemtuzumab) has been affordable until it was discovered it could be used to treat MS. This is not a cure, just a DMT (disease modifying treatment) that is used in hopes that the damage from the disease can be slowed...only one type of MS is approved to take this med, RRMS...relapsing remitting MS.

The company removed it from the market altogether. Renamed it Lemtrada, and provides it to MS patients now. What would have been a $600 yearly cost for the med alemtuzumab, is a $75K per year cost to the MS patient and/or his insurance company for Lemtrada.

[hoosierham]

If something were to “ happen “ to those responsible for such increase I would consider it justifiable.

[freeangel]

Here’s the reason. A new probable “cure” for hepatitis C is now being marketed for about $30,000/month. Many AIDS patients also contract hep c in the same ways AIDS is contracted. I think Medicaid is now paying those hefty fees and I think this company felt slighted. In for a penny, in for a pound-—screw the taxpayers for what, for many, is a personal bad behavior choice.