DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged US regulators from the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to examine the high costs of certain generic drugs, combating anticompetitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry.
Clinton’s requests to the FDA and the FTC on Monday, Oct. 19, were prompted by what she called the “egregious actions of Turing Pharmaceuticals,” according to Reuters.
Turing Pharmaceuticals drew fire from Clinton last month after news reports that it had raised the price of Daraprim, a 62-year-old treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection, from $13.50 to $750 a tablet after acquiring it.
The criticism sent drug industry stock prices plummeting. Turing CEO Martin Shkreli promised to lower Daraprim’s cost to an “unspecified price,” Reuters reported, and Turing is in the midst of a major rebranding effort after being mocked on comedy show “Saturday Night Live.”
In her letter to the FDA, Clinton said that Turing has still not “meaningfully lowered the price.” The company’s decision to “artificially increase the price” exploited vulnerable patients who are dependent on the drug, which is often used by those with compromised immune systems, Clinton said.
“The FDA should expedite any pending reviews, and encourage applications for review, of other generic alternatives to Daraprim,” she wrote.
The FDA said it would review the letter and respond directly to the sender, but noted that the agency’s review of medicines is “a matter of public record.”
In her letter to the FTC, Clinton acknowledged it has only “limited authority to address price gouging when it is the result of unilateral action in a market with no competition,” but also urged the agency to examine both Turing and the pharmaceutical industry overall.
“I believe it would be a great service to the Congress and the Administration if the FTC would study and make recommendations on whether and how our laws might be amended to address this problem,” Clinton wrote, hinting at how she might attempt to overhaul pharmaceutical practices if elected president next year.
Clinton also asked the FTC to investigate whether Turing’s decision to increase Daraprim’s price amounts to the type of anticompetitive behavior the agency can regulate. A Turing spokesman on Monday did not respond to requests to comment on Clinton’s letters to the FDA and FTC.
Drug prices are also being scrutinized by Democrats in Congress and federal prosecutors. Most pharmaceutical companies regularly raise prices, saying it reflects the drugs’ value in the market.
The head of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which has also come under fire for raising drug prices and is being investigated by the government, also said that he predicts upcoming lower price increases for the whole industry.
“The pharmaceutical industry is being aggressively sort of attacked for past pricing actions,” CEO J. Michael Pearson said Monday. “I do think, given that environment, the pricing that pharmaceutical companies will take in the future will be more modest.”
The Daraprim price increase was unusual because it was so large, reports said. In interviews, Shkreli has defended the steep price hike. Last week, Turing announced it was making “improvements to Daraprim’s affordability and accessibility, to clarify any misunderstandings about Turing’s pricing and distribution,” according to a release.
Last month, the former Secretary of State unveiled a plan for a $250 monthly cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and other measures to stop what she calls “price gouging” by pharmaceutical companies.
Turing’s Daraprim and Shkreli were both featured in a TV commercial ad run by Clinton’s campaign about how she plans to take on “skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs.”
“Nobody in America should have to choose between buying the medicine they need and paying their rent,” Clinton says in the ad.
