Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, announced he will reduce the price for Daraprim, a drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, after an earlier 5,000 percent price increase that generated mass criticism and accusations of drug-price gouging.
Shkreli, 32, told NBC News the new price would be determined in the coming weeks. He said lowering the price was a decision taken in reaction to the outrage over Daraprim's price surge.
In August, Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired Daraprim, which was first developed in 1953, from Impax Laboratories for $55 million. Turing immediately increased the price of the drug from $13.50 per pill to $750 each.
"Yes it is absolutely a reaction -- there were mistakes made with respect to helping people understand why we took this action, I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people," Shkreli said.
Daraprim, known generically as pyrimethamine, treats toxoplamosis, an infection caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, one of the world's most common parasites. The parasite can enter its host when people eat under-cooked meat or drink contaminated water.
TVNL Comment: Gee, thanks Mr. Shkreli. We can't wait to see how reasonable the new price will be. Medicine, like all health services, should not be provided by for-profit enterprises. Insurance companies refuse to cover many similarly expensive and even far cheaper medications that are desperately needed by many patients. Only in America....
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