CEO To Lower Drug Price After Intense Backlash To Hike
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The man who upped the price of a lifesaving drug by more than 4,000 percent is now back-tracking a bit.
Daraprim, the drug in the spotlight, was originally $13.50 a pill. Then it skyrocketed to $750 a pill.
The man behind the move is Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli.
Shkreli first said the reason the for the hike was because "there's no doubt I'm a capitalist… We are trying to flourish."
But then backtracked in a statement he made to ABC News
"We've agreed to lower the price of Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and will let company make a profit and we think these changes will be welcome," he said.
Daraprim was created in 1953 to treat toxoplasmosism a parasite you can get from eating undercooked meat or contaminated water that would affect those with a compromised immune system – like AIDS and cancer patients.
The 32-year-old former hedge fund manager was being called the most hated man in America for buying Daraprim and having his company Turing Pharmaceuticals raise the price so much that the average cost for a patient would go from $1,130 to $63,000 a year.
Shkreli originally said Turing was going to use the enormous profit he had in place to develop better treatments for toxoplasmosis, with fewer side effects.
But now, the million dollar question, what is the new price?
That is unclear and is expected to be announced at another time.