Martin Shkreli, the entrepreneur who acquired rights to Daraprim, was on the spotlight after he increased the price of the drug by 5000% from $13.50 per pill to $750 a pill.
He emphasized the need to turn a profit on the drug, further justifying the price hike with that his company will invest on research to develop new versions of the drug.
Not surprisingly, the price hike was met with uproar from the medical community even as Shkreil promised to give away the drug for free to those who can not afford the drug.
1. It Costs Less Than A Dollar in India
Thanks to India's laws that do not accord patent protection unlike in Western countries, the drug costs less than a dollar. The country has a booming generic drugs manufacturing sector encouraged by laws enacted as far back as 1960s.
2. 5000% Increase Only in the US
The 5000% prince increase is only possible in the US. Some countries like India do not accord patent protection at all, while most countries accord 20 years of protection from first application, like in the US. Technically, the patent to Daraprim is already expired but the patent law in the US has a unique concept of "exclusivity" which could exist independently of patents. Turing Pharmaceuticals has exclusive right to market the drug under the brand name Daraprim in the US, and since they are the only provider in the US, they can jack up the price with patients having no alternative.
3. New Version Prolongs Turing Pharmaceuticals Hold On Daraprim
If Turing Pharmaceuticals develop a new version, with significant improvements, of the drug Daraprim, they may be awarded new patent protection in the US, prolonging their hold on the new version on the drug and the brand for another 20 years.
4. Daraprim Developer Won A Nobel Prize
Daraprim was developed by Gertrude B. Ellion. In 1988, Ellion won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine sharing the award with George H. Hitchkings and Sir James Black. Ellion's research will eventually lead to the development of Zidovudine, an inhibitor that prevents the further spread of HIV in patients.
5. Daraprim Was Originally Developed For Malaria
The drug, also known by its generic name Pyrimethamine, was originally developed as a drug to combat malaria. Today, it is used to treat toxoplasmosis which affects those with compromised immune system like cancer and HIV/AIDS patients.