Rich Kid CEO Raises Medication Cost from $10 a Pill to Over $700 In One Day…. Just To See What Happens

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Want to know what’s wrong with the “medical model” these days?  One word: GREED

It can be no more clearly seen then today when a hedge fund manager bought a company which produces a medication, Daraprim, which has been on the market for 62 years, is the standard of care for a food-borne illness called toxoplasmosis caused by a parasite that can severely affect those with compromised immune systems.

The New York Times ran a piece Sunday looking into why a 62-year-old pill saw its price skyrocket from $13.50 to nearly $750 after it was acquired by Turing Pharmaceuticals last month.

The increase in the price of Daraprim, a drug that the Times reported “is the standard of care for treating a life-threatening parasitic infection,” will undoubtedly have a major impact on those struggling to keep up with high prescription drug costs.

The article continued:

Dr. Aberg of Mount Sinai said some hospitals will now find Daraprim too expensive to keep in stock, possibly resulting in treatment delays. She said that Mount Sinai was continuing to use the drug, but each use now required a special review.

“This seems to be all profit-driven for somebody,” Dr. Aberg said, “and I just think it’s a very dangerous process.”

It was apparent that the news regarding Daraprim was set to stir up a storm for Turing Pharmaceuticals, which had already sent out a press release Thursday after a few other publications had dug into the price hike.

In the statement, Turing’s Chief Commercial Officer Nancy Retzlaff reassured the public:

“Our number one priority is to ensure that all patients diagnosed with toxoplasmosis have an efficient and affordable means to access Daraprim,” Ms. Retzlaff said. “As soon as we learned that some hospitals and clinics were having trouble accessing the product, we developed an immediate corrective plan to ensure quick, efficient access for patients in need.”

Martin Shkreli, Turing Pharmaceuticals’ founder and chief executive, took to Twitter following the article’s publication Sunday to do some of his own damage control. In the 15 or so hours following the Times article’s publication, Shkreli sent out 125+ tweets to the “haters” calling out his company’s operations.

Is this the Healthcare that you want?  Who is running your health?  I sure hope you don’t leave it to some rich kid who wants to line his pockets more with your cash.