It's probably because the patent protection on the $7.50 drug will expire before a competing treatment gets approved.
There are clearly all kinds of problems with the way this whole industry works.
All the manufacturer needs do is change 1 tiny thing in a drug, and the FDA will extend the Patent thus keeping generics off the market.
What ins company will pay for these drugs? Not Medicare, Medicaid, Military ins. They are ALL NEGOTIATED PRICES. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT OF APPEAL. WE ARE MEDICARE/TRICARE LIFE, RETIRED CAREER MILITARY OVER 65. THEY TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN CHOSE. My SIBO antibiotic could only be filled at the Navy Pharmacy as it is around $1,550 for 14 days. I had SIBO 3 times last year. It couldn’t be filled anywhere else. Nor can we add discounts to lower the cost. No dental, vision, hearing, unless it is Service Connected, Spouses don’t apply, If vision, dental, or hearing is Service Connected is it covered under Disability. We make to much with 2 SS, Navy Pension, his teacher’s pension, as he was smart enough to get out after 20 yrs and go to college and get a teaching degree for what he taught in the Navy, and we have to pay Federal Income tax on that. We owe only basic bills so NO deductions.
At $2.1 Million, New Gene Therapy Is The Most Expensive Drug Ever https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/24/725404168/at-2-125-million-new-gene-therapy-is-the-most-expensive-drug-ever Novartis set the price at $2.125 million but offers insurers the ability to pay $425,000 a year for five years. This price tag makes Zolgensma the most expensive drug ever approved.