Daraprim: ‘Generic drug’ price increases 5000 percent overnight

A steep increase in the price of Daraprim drug used to treat life-threatening parasitic infections has raised anger among many specialists.

In August, Turning Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to Daraprim, which has been around since the 1940s, and increased the price from $13.50 to $750 – enraging patients and doctors alike.

The drug is used for people with compromised immune systems, like those with AIDS or cancer, as well as infants and pregnant women.

Turing founder Martin Shkreli told the Times that the drug is used so rarely that its health care impact is very small and the money earned by Turing will go toward developing better treatments.

Still, for those who need the treatment, the annual cost will jump significantly. “This is a tremendous increase,” Judith Aberg, a spokesperson for the HIV Medicine Association, told USA Today.

The price change for Daraprim is not necessarily an outlier. Drug pricing has made headlines recently as other drugs that have been on the market for years have gone up. Earlier this month a report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review said two newly approved cholesterol drugs were over-priced for the benefits they provide.

Agencies/Canadajournal