The US drug manufacturer of a treatment used by Aids patients has decided to go back on the 5,000% cost increase for the medicine.
Turing Pharmaceuticals has told US media that the company would go back on a 5,000% price increase on the drug Daraprim.
Turing gained the rights to Daraprim – designed to fight parasitic infections – in August and subsequently raised the price of a tablet from $13.50 to $750.
The controversial decision attracted widescale criticism, with one medical group calling the change in price “unjustifiable”.
CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli informed US media that the company would lower the price of the treatment, although he failed to mention by how much.
In previous attempt to justify the price increase, Shkreli stated that the profits would be used to fund research into new treatments and accused the critics of not understanding the pharmaceuticals industry.
He has now told ABC News: “We’ve agreed to lower the price on Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and is able to allow the company to make a profit, but a very small profit.”
PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s main lobbying group, tweeted that Turing “does not represent the values of PhRMA member companies”.
The price increase prompted a response from Hilary Clinton, who tweeted that plans would be revealed to fight the “outrageous” price hikes in the drug and pharmaceutical industry, adding that drug costs would be capped at £250 a month.
Upon hearing the news she tweeted her relief at the decision to decrease the drug .
The drug manufacturer has not yet announced the new price of the drug.
