Turing reneges on drug price cut

After weeks of criticism from patients, doctors and other drugmakers for raising a life-saving medicine’s price more than fifty-fold, Turing Pharmaceuticals is reneging on its pledge to cut the $750-per-pill price.

[...] the small biotech company is reducing what it charges hospitals, by up to 50 percent, for its parasitic infection treatment, Daraprim.

Turing’s move comes after a pharmacy that compounds prescription drugs for individual patients, Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, started selling a custom-made version for 99 cents per capsule.

A furor over Turing’s staggering price hike erupted, setting off multiple government investigations and pledges from politicians to rein in soaring prescription drug prices.

Imprimis also has begun selling capsules of another drug whose price was jacked up and is considering doing the same with dozens of now high-priced generic drugs for pain, heart disease, infections, skin and hormonal conditions and immune disorders.

Imprimis, like other compounding pharmacies, instead makes up individual prescriptions using drug ingredients already approved — in this case pyrimethamine, Daraprim’s active ingredient, plus a second drug to limit its side effects.