Public outrage about overnight drug increases convinced Rodelis to return the drug rights to it's previous owner.
Rodelis Therapeutics had acquired the rights to cycloserine last month, and reportedly raised prices 2,600 percent, from $500 for 30 capsules to $10,800.
After sustained criticism from the drug’s original owner, the nonprofit Chao Center for Industrial Pharmacy and Contract Manufacturing, which is affiliated with the Purdue Research Foundation, the patent was returned to the organization Monday, the New York Times reported.
“We said [to Rodelis] this was not what we had intended,” Dan Hasler, the foundation’s president, told the Times. “We discovered literally on Thursday the strategy that had been undertaken,” he added, referring to the price hike.
The
foundation will now charge $1,050 for 30 capsules, a doubling in price that
is still vastly below Rodelis’ increase. Hasler said the new price was needed to mitigate losses as the drug had cost the Chao Center roughly $10 million since it acquired its rights in 2007.
Cycloserine is only used to treat tuberculosis cases that prove resistant to other drugs. The drug is used to treat about 40 patients a year. It first went on sale in 1955, and was produced by Eli Lilly and Co. until about 2000, when it transferred the manufacturing rights and skills to several foreign generic drug companies, as a philanthropic move.
The news came amid the controversy or a massive 5,000 percent price hike for antiparasitic drug Daraprim, by Turing Pharmaceuticals AG. It received significant more media attention after the New York Times report on Sunday prompted a response from Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who declared:
“Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous,” and vow to create a plan to discourage the practice.
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Follow below for an update, from Turing Parmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkrel.
Reacting to the outrage exhibited by the public, Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, Turing Pharmaceuticals lowered the prices on the drugs he had just put outrageous prices on overnight.
Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli said Tuesday he would roll back the massive price increase for lifesaving drug Daraprim after a fierce public backlash that included presidential candidates.
I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people," Shkreli, a 32-year-old hedge fund manager, told the network. Like duh, ya think!
Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, condemned the increase. Clinton called it "price gouging."
Clinton unveiled a plan Tuesday to cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs like Daraprim.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry's main lobbying group, sought to distance itself from Turing's move, posting on Twitter that the drugmaker "does not represent the values of PhRMA member companies."
The group noted that Turing is not one of its members, which include global drug giants Merck, Pfizer and Novartis.
Shkreli wanted to use the profits to research a new drug for the condition, according to The Washington Post. He said the earlier price of $13.50 just wasn't profitable.
Cycloserine is only used to treat tuberculosis cases that prove resistant to other drugs. The drug is used to treat about 40 patients a year.
Daraprim, known generically as pyrimethamine:
The drug is mostly used in the treatment of toxoplasmosis, an infectious parasite considered a "leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States," according to the Centers for Disease Control. The condition is especially bad for pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems due to illnesses such as HIV-AIDS or cancer.
A federal prosecutor this year subpoenaed biotechnology company Retrophin Inc., looking for information on its dealings with Shkreli, who founded the company in 2011 and ran it until he was fired last year. The criminal probe also sought information related to Shkreli's hedge fund, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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