Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drug Company Executive Justifies Price Hikes In Era Of Public Shaming: 'It Is A Moral Requirement To Make Money'
Financial Times: Pharma Chief Defends 400% Drug Price Rise As A ‘Moral Requirement’
A pharma executive has defended his decision to raise the price of an antibiotic mixture to more than $2,000 a bottle, arguing there was a “moral requirement to sell the product at the highest price.” Last month, Nostrum Laboratories, a small Missouri-based drugmaker, more than quadrupled the price of a bottle of nitrofurantoin from $474.75 to $2,392, according to Elsevier’s Gold Standard drug database. Nitrofurantoin is an antibiotic used to treat bladder infections that was first marketed in 1953, which appears on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines. It comes in a tablet form as well as a liquid version that Nostrum makes. (Crow, 9/11)
The Hill: Drug Company CEO Calls 400 Percent Price Hike 'Moral Requirement'
Mulye said the branded version of the drug increased in price to $2,800. “The point here is the only other choice is the brand at the higher price. It is still a saving regardless of whether it is a big one or not,” he said. Mulye also defended Martin Shkreli, the disgraced pharma CEO who faced national criticism, including outcries from members of Congress, after he increased the price of a life-saving drug by 5,000 percent. (Hellmann, 9/11)
Stat: Nostrum CEO Hiked Drug's Price By 400 Percent, And Officials Can’t Do Much
The bold words from both sides illustrate just how little has changed in the debate over drug prices, despite the Trump administration’s attempts to scare drug makers away from hiking their prices. “We’ve seen that public shaming doesn’t work. It didn’t work for Daraprim. It didn’t work for EpiPen. It’s not a long term solution for our drug pricing problem,” Rachel Sachs, associate professor of law at Washington University, said. (Swetlitz and Florko, 9/11)
