The Louisiana Purchase

By ROBERT PEARL, MD “Pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered,” the saying goes. And so may it prove to be true for the pharmaceutical industry. Three articles, all published recently, illustrate the greed and egregious pricing by certain drug companies that are gaining public recognition and scrutiny. Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC serves as a case in point. Over the last 15 years, its chairman and CEO Jeffrey Aronin generated a billion-dollar valuation for the company. As reported in a Wall Street Journal article, “Drug Price Revolt Prods a Pioneer to Cash Out,” he achieved this milestone not by inventing new drugs but, rather, by buying the rights to old ones, then raising the prices excessively with disregard for patients’ ability to pay. As an example, Marathon invested $370,000 to obtain the license for the data on “deflazacort,” a steroid available for about $1,200 a year in the United Kingdom. This medication is prescribed to treat muscular dystrophy, a condition that predominantly affects young boys. The company then secured FDA approval, renamed the drug “Emflaza,” and sold it to patients in the U.S. for $89,000 a year. Through the approach it used, Marathon invested only minimal dollars, avoided having to complete late-stage clinical trials, and was never required to compare its efficacy against other, relatively inexpensive generic alternatives. Outrage from parents of children with muscular dystrophy, combined with harsh cr...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs