The CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals came under fire this week after a viral New York Times investigation found his company acquired the rights to manufacture Daraprim — a drug sometimes used to treat children with AIDS — and subsequently hiked the price from $13.50 to $750 per tablet.
The same issue, however, was highlighted last month when Purdue Research Foundation sold the rights to manufacture cycloserine, used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, to Rodelis Therapeutics. Nearly overnight, the price of the drug skyrocketed from $500 to $10,800 for 30 capsules.
Last week, the two parties mutually agreed to return the drug to its previous manufacturer at the Chao Center for Industrial Pharmacy and Contract Manufacturing, said Dan Hasler, CEO of Purdue Research Foundation. PRF will charge twice what it had before — $1,050 for 30 capsules — to make up for losses.
The transaction was reversed quickly enough that patients should feel much less of an impact, Hasler said, noting PRF has a history of providing discounts or vouchers for those who need the drug but can’t afford it.
“We’re trying to do the right thing, that’s all there is to it,” he said. “As we saw what was happening, we just concluded this is not what we had intended and we want to take control back and continue to try to make this drug available for those few people who really need it.”
Scott Spencer, general manager of Rodelis, told the New York Times that the price hikes were necessary to ensure the supply of the drug remained stable, noting the company provided the drug for free to certain patients. The Journal & Courier reached out to Rodelis on Tuesday but a spokesperson was unavailable for comment.