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November 25, 2015 at 03:23 AM
(Bloomberg) — Turing Pharmaceuticals AG, the drugmaker that raised the price of an anti-infective drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent, suggested that it won’t cut the drug’s list price, instead offering to negotiate discounts with hospitals.
“A reduction in Daraprim’s list price would not translate into a benefit for patients,” Nancy Retzlaff, Turing’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. The company did say it would negotiate discounts with hospitals of as much as 50 percent.
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After Turing faced broad criticism from politicians, advocates and health-care providers, Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli said in September he would cut the drug’s price. “We have agreed to lower the price of Daraprim to a point that is more affordable,” he said in an interview with ABC News that aired Sept. 22. Shkreli didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
See also: Big pharma lobby group forswears drugmaker targeted by Clinton
Turing acquired Daraprim in August and raised its price to $750 a pill from $13.50. Even with the discount to hospitals, it will cost $375 a pill.
“A 50 percent reduction after a 5,000 percent price increase still makes this an extremely expensive drug, and still prevents most hospitals from keeping it in stock,” said Joel Gallant, medical director of specialty services at the Southwest CARE Center in Santa Fe, N.M., where he works on HIV. “Suffice it to say that this announcement doesn’t satisfy anyone.”
