Turing Pharmaceuticals and its CEO, Martin Shkreli, made headlines last year after raising the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim from $13.50 per dose to $750. In the wake of Daraprim’s controversial price hike, a group of Australian teenagers decided to recreate this essential medication in the lab. They were able to do so at the cost of about $2 per dose.
The teens worked with scientists from the University of Sydney to replicate pyrimethamine (the generic name for Daraprim) as part of a science project. After testing a drug sample, researchers from the University confirmed that the students had successfully synthesized pyrimethamine.
Because Turing owns the rights to Daraprim in the U.S., the Australian students won’t be able to market their inexpensive form of the drug as a competitor. However, Alice Williamson, one of the University of Sydney researchers who oversaw the project, says that the aim of the project wasn’t to go into business. Instead, the students and their supervisors wanted to send a message to pharmaceutical companies that the cost of development doesn’t always justify high drug prices.
Why Is the Cost of Daraprim So High?
Daraprim is an anti-parasitic medicine which is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a disease that can be life-threatening to pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system (including people with HIV or AIDS). The World Health Organization lists it as an essential medicine.
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Daraprim is primarily used to treat toxoplasmosis. Source: cdc.gov |
The patent for Daraprim expired over six decades ago, and while it’s still sold under a trade name, it’s considered a niche generic drug. Generics are typically less expensive than branded drugs, but with last year’s price hike, the cost of Daraprim is now comparable to that of some of the most expensive cancer drugs. The Infectious Disease Societies of America estimates that the annual cost of Daraprim treatment would be in the range of $336,000 to $634,000, depending on the dosage.
The Australian teens who synthesized pyrimethamine proved that this medication can be produced inexpensively (at least on a small scale), so why is Turing Pharmaceuticals able to continuing selling it for such a high price?
It all comes down to competition—or the lack thereof. Turing owns the rights to the brand name Daraprim in the U.S., and there is currently no identical replacement from another manufacturer. Because the patent for Daraprim has expired, a generic drug manufacturer could begin making an alternative. However, because the market for this drug is small (about 2,000 U.S. patients use Daraprim every year), there’s little incentive for a generic manufacturer to compete. And because patients who need Daraprim don’t have an alternative medication they can turn to, they’re stuck paying the high prices that Turing Pharmaceuticals charges.
There is some hope on the horizon, though. Imprimis Pharmaceuticals has announced that they will begin offering a substitute drug that’s priced as low as $99 for 100 capsules, or about $1 per pill.
