Daraprim is a drug that has been in the market for over six decades, and is a standard medication against food-borne disease toxoplasmosis, which can have drastic effects on those with damaged immune systems. This is exactly the reason why an HIV/AIDS patient advocacy group expressed concern over an overnight rise in its price last week.
The price hike that has created an outrage in the US is not a small one, as pharma company Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet. NDTV reported that , this price hike which the CEO Martin Shkreli describes as a common practice for raising profits, came immediately after Turing acquired rights for Daraprim last month.
I didn’t just ‘read the headline’, I saw the interview. @MartinShkreli is repulsive. And that’s coming from a man who likes to be pissed on.
— Jim Norton (@JimNorton) September 22, 2015 You’ve got to give Martin Shkreli some credit for switching from hedge funds to the medical field, where he could hurt people more directly.
— Mark Ganek (@MarkGanek) September 22, 2015 Amidst the social media storm triggered by his questionable trade practices, Martin Shkreli has maintained a somewhat audacious approach towards media and critics. When John Caroll of daily newsletter ‘Fierce Biotech’ asked him the reason for the price hike, Martin Shkreli responded by simply calling him a “moron” on Twitter.
@JohnCFierce No one is reading this. There are no “folks”. You are irrelevant.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 20, 2015 @JohnCFierce You are such a moron.
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 20, 2015 The move which has led consumers to call for a boycott of the company, the media called such ‘price gouging’ of a specialty drug “unjustifiable for medically vulnerable patients”. The tremendous price hike also caught Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s attention, who called it “outrageous” and promised to “take it on” with a plan.
Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. Tomorrow I’ll lay out a plan to take it on. -H https://t.co/9Z0Aw7aI6h
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 21, 2015 Turing spokesperson Craig Rothenberg responded that the money from sales will be used for more research on treatment of toxoplasmosis. He said that the firm had plans to invest in “marketing and education” to raise awareness, an answer many stakeholders are not really satisfied with.
. @MartinShkreli As the son of a world-famous infectious disease MD who saved continents, let me say: U are the personification of evil.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) September 21, 2015 What @MartinShkreli doesn’t get (bc he isn’t as smart as he thinks he is) is the danger he is putting AIDS patients like myself in.
— Rs = 2GM/c^2 (@AnarchoPhysics) September 22, 2015 While the hedge fund manager turned pharma company CEO Shkreli is facing a lot of heat, he is responding to criticism and questions by launching personal attacks and quoting Eminem.
http://t.co/co6Fmwk3XX And it seems like the media immediately points a finger at me So I point one back at em, but not the index or pinkie
— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) September 21, 2015 Investing in research for the future is fine, but depriving patients of affordable healthcare by raising prices is questionable and unfair.
Feature image source: Twitter
