A drug maker has stepped in to offer a $1 pill alternative to the pricey $750 anti-parasite treatment that sparked public outrage last month.
Imprimis Pharmaceuticals said Thursday that it would make a formulation that is similar to Daraprim, whose price Turing Pharmaceuticals jacked up almost overnight from $13.50 to $750 a pill.
The 5,000-percent price hike started a wave of public attacks on the small drug maker’s 32-year-old CEO Martin Shkreli. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton repeatedly accused Shkreli of price gouging, and her competitor Bernie Sanders refused a donation from the former hedge fund manager.
Now Imprimis is stepping in to offer what it calls a cheaper alternative to Daraprim. It would start offering the formulation as low as $99 for a 100-count bottle, the company said Thursday.
Daraprim is a generic version of a drug that has been on the market for decades. A big reason why Shkreli could raise the price so much is that there is no generic competition since the drug serves a limited population.
This isn’t a generic drug, which must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It is instead a customizable compounded formulation that requires a doctor’s prescription to prepare and dole out.
Imprimis’ CEO hinted that this isn’t the first time the price of a generic drug has increased suddenly.
“While we respect Turing’s right to charge patients and insurance companies whatever it believes is appropriate, there may be more cost-effective compounded options for medications, such as Daraprim,” said CEO Mark Baum.
Shkreli has said that the profits from the drug will go toward creating a new treatment for toxoplasmosis, the parasite treated by Daraprim. However, several doctors have said a new treatment isn’t needed.
Turing representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
