Turing Pharmaceuticals to cut Daraprim costs for hospitals only after outcry over Martin Shkreli's price hike
Shkreli has defended the price hike as necessary to developing a better drug with fewer side effects.
Turing Pharmaceuticals will slash the price hospitals pay for Daraprim by 50 percent following backlash over owner Martin Shkreli's decision to hike the price of the AIDS drug by 5,000 percent, the company said Tuesday.
"After talking with doctors, patients, and patient advocacy groups and considering the ongoing patient assistance programs, Turing recognized that the place they could have the biggest impact on Daraprim cost – and ultimately cost savings to patients was in hospitals," the company said in a statement.
[Also: Daraprim competitor to market $1 pill after Turing chief Martin Shkreli hikes price]
Shkreli had boosted the price Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 a pill in September.
Turing also pledged that no patient needing Daraprim would be denied access to the medicine. It assured patients with commercial insurance that their out-of-pocket obligation would be no more than $10 per prescription when Turing's co-pay program is used.
It will offer Daraprim free-of-charge to uninsured, qualified patients with demonstrated income at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty level through its Patient Assistance Program.
[Also: Turing Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli defends $750 for Daraprim pill ]
Shkreli made no statement in the announcement that comes a month after competitor Imprimis Pharmaceuticals said it would market a drug similar to Daraprim for $1 a tablet.
Shkreli has defended the price hike as necessary to developing a better drug with fewer side effects than one that had been on the market for over 50 years. Daraprim treats toxoplasmosis, an infection that is life-threatening to those with weakened immune systems.
On Tuesday, the company said it is investing in developing a better therapy for toxoplasmosis encephalitis as part of its commitment to invest at least 60 percent of its revenues into research and development for innovative therapies, primarily for rare and neglected diseases.
Turing said it would cut by up to 50 percent the list price of Daraprim for hospitals, which are the first to treat about 80 percent of patients with toxoplasmosis encephalitis. The company will also offer, starting in early 2016, new, smaller bottles of 30 tablets to hospitals to make it easier to stock Daraprim with lower carrying costs. It will also offer sample starter packages at zero cost to physicians.
For the outpatient setting, Turing said it would continue to take part in federal and state programs such as Medicaid and the 340B discount program, having costs as low as $1 per 100-pill bottle, which now account for about two-thirds of Daraprim sales, the company said.
"Turing sells about 70 percent of Daraprim for $1 per prescription or less and nearly all patients can receive Daraprim for $10 or less out-of-pocket," the company said.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
