In August 2015, the entrepreneur paid $50 million USD to buy a patent for production of an AIDS medication. In September, he raised the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750. The actions of Mr. Shkreli spurred a heated online discussion about pricing in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the morality of the main players in the pharmaceutical market.
Even those who are not familiar with the problems of HIV-infected people and have never heard of Daraprim (the medicine in question) have learned all about this drug and its producer. The substance is used to treat toxoplasmosis – a parasite-caused illness which often targets weak immune systems. Most often this illness is found in HIV-infected and AIDS-patients. Most of them require a long-term course of Daraprim. Experts from the Infectious Diseases Society of America have calculated that with the new prices, a year-long course will cost $634,000 USD. Meanwhile, treatment with this medication is not covered by medical insurance.
In a letter to Turing management, IDSA specialists called the new price unjustified. However, Mr. Shkreli thinks that there is a reason for such a hike; according to him, the medication needs refining, which in turn will require significant funding. The CEO explained that the company needed to raise the price to make a profit on the drug, which was unreasonably cheap. In an interview with CNBC, Shkreli added that Daraprim was obsolete and had a number of side effects, which Turing pharmaceutical specialists were hoping to tackle in the course of extensive medical research. For instance, the entrepreneur said that the medication could cause temporary infertility in women. He also promised to make efforts to persuade insurance companies to recognize taking this medication as an insurance case and thus lighten the financial burden for patients.
As soon as the news made its way to international headlines, users of social networks such as
essaygobuy.com attacked Mr. Shkreli with the unbridled force of anger.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted:"Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous". After her tweet, the price of Turing shares fell by 5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. Shkreli, however, did not provide any more explanation and only published a link to Eminem's song The Way I Am.
Most of the media soon recognized Shkreli as the most hated person in the country. They have also added that the case with Daraprim has not been the only one. Stakeholders in the pharmaceutical market often shock with inappropriate pricing policies for life-saving medications. Authors of multiple articles expressed hope that this case would attract public attention to the problem, which is far more significant than was recognized before.
Source : articlesbase.com
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