NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Turing Pharmaceuticals, a small company that generated outrage by raising the cost of an old anti-infective drug by more than 5,000%, said it would roll back that increase to make sure it remains affordable.

Turing and its chief executive officer, Martin Shkreli, became the new face of the US drug pricing controversy this week, after the New York Times reported that the company had raised the price of Daraprim, a 62-year-old treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection, to $750 (£488) a pill from $13.50 (£8.79) after acquiring it. The medicine once sold for $1 a pill.

The story sparked outrage among patients, medical societies and the Democratic presidential frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, who outlined a proposal to cap rocketing prescription drug costs for consumers.

Shkreli told ABC World News Tonight on Tuesday: “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, and we think these changes will be welcome.” The final cost was still being determined, but would be less than $750 per pill.