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The ABC news website (an Australian national news service funded by the Australian government) reports on a group of high school students from Sydney Australia who have managed to recreate the active ingredient in Daraprim for a mere $20.
Daraprim has received a lot of coverage recently after Turing Pharmaceuticals who owns the patent, initially raised the price of the drug from $13.50 to $750.00, though they have since stated that the price will be reduced.
From the article:
For $US20, a group of high school students has created 3.7 grams of an active ingredient used in the medicine Daraprim, which would sell in the United States for between $US35,000 and $US110,000.
Pyrimethamine, the active ingredient in Daraprim, treats a parasitic infection in people with weak immune systems such as pregnant women and HIV patients.
In August 2015, the price of Daraprim in the US rose from $US13.50 per tablet to $US750 when Turing Pharmaceuticals, and its controversial then-chief executive Martin Shkreli, acquired the drug's exclusive rights and hiked up the price.
Since then, the 17-year-olds from Sydney Grammar have worked in their school laboratory to create the drug cheaply in order to draw attention to its inflated price overseas, which student Milan Leonard said was "ridiculous".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 01 2016, @05:21PM
It looks like there were 5 people working for free on this project since August 2015. So for grad student wages that would work out to about $150k. They don't explain what the 20 dollars was spent on... I would guess lab consumables add up to more than that after a year though. That is almost certainly an underestimate, by at least an order of magnitude.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 02 2016, @10:04AM
What country do you live in where 4 17-year old highschool students are paid $150k a year, for what was obviously extremely part-time work???