5,000% increase in cost of a drug fires up public

The long-standing debate over the cost of prescription drugs in the United States compared with other industrialized nations was brought into sharp focus this week when the company that sells a pill for treating a deadly parasitic infection raised the price by more than 5,000 percent – before rolling back some of the increase after a firestorm of criticism.

It is noteworthy that Turing Pharmaceuticals’ action – and then its reaction – occurred around the same time that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton rolled out a plan to rein in prescription drug prices by reshaping how drug makers do business.

And while pharmaceutical experts quickly dismissed Clinton’s proposal as a rehash of ideas put forth over the years by Democrats and summarily dismissed by Republicans in Congress, they would have been hard pressed to downplay the national and global reaction to the increase in the cost of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750.

These experts also would have been unable to do anything else but concede that the response from Turing Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli simply confirmed the generally held belief that drug makers are nothing more than a bunch of greedy, selfish individuals who put profit before all else.

Indeed, various news stories reveal that Shkreli’s initial reaction to the global criticism was to dig in and that he had refused to back down when the story of the increase broke. But, as the cries of foul grew louder and the financial fallout for the company became evident, the CEO was forced to backtrack.

“We’ve agreed to lower the price of Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and is able to allow the company to make a profit, but a very small profit,” Shkreli told ABC News Tuesday. But even then, he could not resist toying with the individuals who depend on the drug. He refused to to say what the new price would be.

Overnight price boost

Turing obtained rights to sell the drug, the only U.S.-approved treatment for toxoplasmosis, in August, and hiked the price overnight by the 5,000 percent. The company said it would use profits to improve the drug’s formulation and develop new, better drugs for the infection. It also stressed that some patients can get financial aid from the company to obtain the drug.

But here’s the kicker: Daraprim is an old drug whose patent has expired. And, it is used by a small number of individuals whose immune systems are compromised. The drug fights toxoplasmosis. The infection is particularly dangerous for people who have weakened immune systems, such as AIDS patients, as well as for pregnant women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Medical groups representing doctors who care for patients with HIV and other infectious diseases blasted the action by Turing and its CEO, Shkreli.

Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state who is leading in the polls for the Democratic nomination for president, was on the mark when she called the price hike “outrageous.”

In outlining her plan to rein in prescription drug prices, Clinton said there would be limits on how much patients have to pay out of pocket for medications each month.

She also said that cheaper drug imports from abroad would be a key part of the plan, as would permitting Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

But political reality is that the drug companies are so powerful that even a 12.6 percent increase in the cost of prescription medication won’t bring about a change of attitude in Congress.

It has made no difference to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that 70 percent of Americans believe drug costs are unreasonable and favor limiting what drug companies can charge for medicines that treat serious illnesses.

But, there is now an opening for a broader national discussion and a debate on the presidential campaign trail about the rising costs of prescription drugs – thanks to Turing CEO Shkreli.

Republicans in control of Congress may succeed in preventing any kind of formal discussion about the cost of medicines, but as the American people are forced to dig deeper into their pockets to purchase life-saving drugs, the political climate will change.