Drugmaker Turing suggests it won’t cut list price of Daraprim

Turing said in the statement that it would start providing free samples to some health-care providers, and make smaller bottles of the drug available to hospitals next year in order to lower their costs to stock the treatment. The company also has existing programs to lower patients’ co-pays for the drug to less than $10.

List prices aren’t the ultimate determinant of what a drug actually costs the health-care system. Insurers typically try and negotiate discounts, which can be based on whether there are competing treatments or generics available. While Turing’s drug, Daraprim, is decades old, there aren’t generic equivalents available in the United States.

Turing said it was trying to keep patients’ out-of-pocket cost low. “By providing affordable access for hospitals and reaffirming our commitment that nearly all patients will receive Daraprim for $10 or less out-of-pocket per prescription, that’s what we have done,” Retzlaff said in the statement.

It’s not clear from the company’s statement that that discount offered to hospitals and patients would also be given to insurers who pay for the drugs, or whether the hospital discount would apply to supplying the drug for outpatient use. The company also didn’t say how big the discount would be for most hospitals, or how many would get the discount.

A company spokesman declined to comment.

Daraprim treats a condition called toxoplasmosis, which is caused by a parasite that can become active in people with weakened immune systems because of HIV, chemotherapy or other conditions or treatments.