There's no reduction for the list price of Daraprim after all.
Turing Pharmaceuticals through Martin Shkreli has announced on Tuesday, Nov 26, that it has decided not to reduce the price of a prized drug Daparim. An ex hedge fund manager and now the chief executive of the company, Shkreli hogged the headlines two months ago when he mentioned that the price of the drug, which used to be valued at only $13.50 will increase to $750 per tablet, an equivalent of more than 4,500% price hike.
Back then, Shkreli, whose company bought the license of the drug that has been around for over 60 years, has already explained that the huge increase, which has been criticized by both patients and health organizations, is due to the mispricing of the drug-that is, it has long been undervalued in the market.
Darparim has been the primary drug for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that can lead to poor eye vision and body coordination. It may also cause seizures especially for people who already have a poor immune system. Toxoplasmosis is still common with more than 45% of cases happening worldwide. At least 20% of the people in the United States are infected with the disease.
The drug is also being used for malaria treatment, a mosquito-borne disease that contributes to more than 500,000 deaths in Africa, as well as an HIV drug.
During the backlash, Shkreli announced that it's going to lower the cost of the drug, although he wasn't clear by how much.
Despite their decision to retain the drug's modified list price, the pharmaceutical company has promised that it will still make Darparim accessible to all patients. For example, they will offer as much as 50% discount to hospitals. They will also continue to create programs that will lower the price of the medicine. Commercial officer Nancy Retzlaff also said that the price of drug isn't the main factor would not immediately mean benefits to patients.
