Questionable pricing strategies in recent years have caught the attention of the media, governments and the public. For example, Mylan’s EpiPen price increased by more than 600% in several years.1 And the price of the drug Daraprim (pyrimethamine), commonly used for patients with AIDS and certain cancers, rose from $213.50 to $750 per tablet following the acquisition of the product by Turing Pharmaceuticals.2 One year later, the price of the latter dropped to $350 per tablet.3 Similarly, cycloserine, a drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, saw its price rise from $500 to $10,800 per 30 tablets following its acquisition by Rodelis Therapeutics.3 There are several other examples of companies that have dramatically hiked their prices following the acquisition of existing drug products.
These drugs are long-established generic products. The annual increase in treatment for some patients rose to hundreds of thousands of dollars.3 Outcries came not only from patients, but doctors who feared that they would need to prescribe alternative, less-effective therapies. The companies implementing these pricing strategies clearly exploited an existing and flawed system.1
They also created a strong backlash against the pharmaceutical industry, with extensive negative discussions and heightened levels of scrutiny on social media. Innovator companies developing novel medicines must develop effective pricing strategies in the face of this harsh rhetoric and political posturing, which can be quite challenging, given that novel therapies represent new standards of care with no existing products to help with value determinations.
Not yet a Subscriber?
This is a small extract of the full article which is available ONLY to premium content subscribers. Click below to get premium content on Manufacturing Chemist.
Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Sign in here.