Drug Company Rescinds 5,000% Price Increase for Decades-Old Drug

Turing Pharmaceuticals rescinded a more than 5,000% increase in the price of a decades-old drug after outrage over the price hike caused a drop in biotechnology stocks as investors became concerned about potential government action. The 62-year-old drug -- Daraprim -- is used to treat malaria and is the standard of care for treating toxoplasmosis, a life-threatening parasitic infection. Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired the drug last month and increased its price by more than 5000%, from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet. Experts expressed worry that the change represented an alarming industry trend in which drug companies purchase older medications and increase their prices.

• "Drug Goes From $13.50 a Tablet to $750, Overnight" (Pollack, New York Times, 9/20).
• "Company Hikes Price 5,000% for Drug That Fights Complication of AIDS, Cancer" (Rushton, USA Today, 9/18).

• "Big Price Increase for Tuberculosis Drug Is Rescinded" (Pollack, New York Times, 9/21).