$1 Aids Pill Introduced As Alternative Drug; Medicine Not FDA Approved?
Imprimis Pharmaceuticals created an alternative drug to Daraprim for less than $1 a pill. The drastic increase of the AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750 per pill by a Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli has inspired a competitor to make an alternative version of the drug for a cheaper price.
A company named Imprimis Pharmaceutical announced on Thursday that they have formulated an alternative AIDS pill that has the same ingredient as Turing's Daraprim, which will only sell for $99 per 100-bottle pill, according to Mashable.
"The extent to which companies have raised their prices has gotten so out of control that we can do a lot more," Mark Baum, Imprimis Pharmaceutical CEO told Mashable. Baum believed that a lot could be done to correct the wrong doings of others.
Last month, Turing Pharmaceuticals founder and CEO Martin Shkreli bought a 62-year old drug called Daraprim for $55 million, reported on Tech Crunch. The massive price increase provoked negative reaction from the people when he raised the drug price by 5,000% selling it from supposedly price of $13.50 to $750 a pill, according to CNN Money. Daraprim is best prescribed for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease such as those with AIDS.
The drug isn't FDA approved but its ingredients are, so it will only be available through a doctor's prescription to a certain patient.
"Recent generic drug price increases have made us concerned and caused us to take positive action to address an opportunity to help a needy patient population," stated by Imprimis CEO Mark L. Baum.
The company respects Turing's right for the increase price charges. He said there might be cheaper yet effective medications in the market such Daraprim for patients, doctors, insurance companies and pharmacies to consider, according to USA Today.
Although the Turing Company hasn't directly referred to Imprimis but wants to clarify any misunderstanding about the drug price and contribution to the public.
Turing Spokesperson stated that the "goal has been to ensure that every patient who needs Daraprim has ready and affordable access to it," during a press told in USA Today.
