What happened to the $750 pill that catapulted Martin Shkreli to infamy

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

What happened to the $750 pill that catapulted Martin Shkreli to infamy

By Carolyn Y. Johnson August 1 at 1:51 PM

Martin Shkreli awaits a verdict on securities fraud charges that could land him in prison for up to 20 years, depending on whether prosecutors have convinced the jury that he lied to his investors about how he used their money.

But at this fateful juncture, it's worth remembering why so many people in America have such strong feelings about Shkreli, whose Congress-taunting smirk became a meme. America loves to hate Martin Shkreli, not because of his alleged investor fraud, but because as former chief executive of a little-known company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, he bought a drug invented before he was born and raised the price astronomically.

That drug, called Daraprim, went from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill in the summer of 2015. Now that the outrage over access to that lifesaving medicine has died down, guess how much the pill costs? $750. There is still no generic version.

A Turing spokeswoman did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment.

The fact that Daraprim's price never budged, despite the furor it set off, underscores a hard truth about drug prices. Anger and concern flare up periodically — when drug prices increase, a new drug launches with an astounding price or patients have trouble getting access to a medicine because of cost.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/01/what-happened-to-the-750-pill-that-catapulted-pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-to-infamy/

[hlthe2b]

1. Colorado's SuperMax at Florence has quite willingly agreed to contain the "worst" of the

"worst"--Ramzi Youself, Ted Kaczynski, Terry Nichols, Eric Robert Rudolph, Richard Reid, Zaccarias, Moussaou and others....

That is where I think this creep belongs--along with others who knowingly put the lives of others at risk to enrich themselves.

Not that I want any of them defiling the beauty of Colorado, but we've got the facility...

[BigmanPigman]

2. Unbelievable what drug lobbyists have pulled off and continue to pull off.

A few years ago a guy visiting from Sweden got bitten by a snake and the bill was $250,000. He was wise and bought traveler's health insur before coming here. No one who lives in other countries believe the crap that goes on in this greedy country.

Two of my meds cost $1,000 a month WITH insurance! I have the ACA with subsidies and would be bankrupt if I don't die in a few years (as is expected) from the cost of health care.