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.
The three most corrupt American organizations - 1-the government, 2- the unions, 3- the pharma industry.
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.
If something were to “ happen “ to those responsible for such increase I would consider it justifiable.