Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Tuesday February 18 2020, @08:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the identical-drug-Synacthen-in-Canada-costs-about-$33 dept.

Television station WSB-TV 2 in Atlanta, Georgia reports Metro city sues drug manufacturer over '97,500% price increase' for seizure medicine:

The city of Marietta, Georgia is suing drug manufacturer Mallinckrodt after Mallinckrodt increased the price of the drug Acthar by 97,500%.

"Acthar used to cost $40, but Mallinckrodt has raised the price of the drug to over $39,000 per vial," the city claims in its lawsuit. "This eye-popping 97,500% price increase is the result of unlawful and unfair conduct by Mallinckrondt. The City has expended over $2 million for just one patient covered by the city's self-funded health plan."

Atlanta pharmacist Ira Katz said Acthar is what's called a "biologic" and they can be classified as specialty drugs.

"They put them into the specialty class, and the prices are outrageous, just outrageous," Katz said.

The company sent a response to the station's request for comment. In part, it states:

In 2017, Mallinckrodt specifically offered to work with representatives for the City of Marietta in response to inquiries the City had made about the price of Acthar. The City declined to meaningfully participate in that process.

"Mallinckrodt acquired Acthar in August 2014, well after the price increase you reference in 2007 was undertaken by Questcor, the previous owner of Acthar. Under our stewardship, any price adjustments to Acthar have been limited to the mid-single digit percentage range. We want to help ensure patients have access to and can benefit from our therapies. That's why we offer significant discounts to many payers and customers, which the prior owner did not. Additionally, Mallinckrodt offers a range of robust free drug and commercial copay assistance options for patients, in compliance with applicable laws.

Apparently, there is a long history of complaints about the pricing for Acthar. See, for example, this December 2016 story in The New York Times. Here's another where CBS' 60 Minutes did an investigation. Then there are these two June 2018 stories from CNN. The focus of the first story is an overview of this drug's price and history. The second story has as its focus the impact on a single child and his family.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 19 2020, @03:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 19 2020, @03:56AM (#959782)

    Mallinckrodt is incredibly unethical. My dad worked in the downtown St. Louis plant for decades before losing his job in a layoff. After the layoff, they refused to give a reference even saying he worked there, effectively blacklisting him from working in the pharmaceutical industry for several years. He absolutely despised Mallinckrodt and frequently talked about the unethical and dishonest practices he saw in the labs. He was always concerned about shoddy quality control practices involving their pharmaceuticals and whether the products could be dangerous, but didn't have the proof he needed to go to the FDA and ensure they would be able to substantiate the allegations. I have little doubt he also was concerned about the effects on his family if he chose to be a whistle blower. From everything I've heard, from someone who worked in the St. Louis plant for a long time, they're an incredibly nasty company. It is not surprising at all that they've chosen to be greedy and unethical in the situation as well. Fuck Mallinckrodt. I hope they get put out of business.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1