Drug Company Fined $100M For Raising Price 85000%

[GarlicGuy]

http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2017/01/18/news...ine/index.html

I looked, and didn't see a post on this. I guess nobody cares because it is not a US company? The outrage - myself included - with Mylan was tangible....

Snippet:

An Irish drug maker was accused of slowly hiking the price of a life-saving medication used to treat infants from $40 a vial to more than $34,000 a vial, and preventing other pharmaceutical firms from creating a competitive drug.

The company, Mallinckrodt, agreed Wednesday to settle charges of anti-competitive practices by paying a $100 million fine and allow a competitor to produce a similar medication.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that the deal was reached with the FTC and three state attorney generals.

The drug, H.P. Acthar Gel, is used to treat infantile spasms and multiple sclerosis. A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman -- who was involved in the settlement -- said the drug is typically prescribed in "life-saving situations."


Schneiderman's office said Mallinckrodt's (MNK)U.S. subsidiary -- formerly known as Questcor -- purchased Acthar in 2001 and proceeded to slowly raise the price of the drug 85,000%. The complaint says a single course of treatment can cost "well over $100,000."

The complaint also alleges that Questcor thwarted attempts by its competitors to introduce a similar drug to the U.S. market by out-bidding their efforts to acquire Synacthem, which is used to treat the same conditions, in 2013.

Now, the company must give up its rights to Synacthem and allow another company to produce the product.

"This is an egregious case of a monopolist doing a deal to eliminate potential competition and keep its power over pricing," Schneiderman said in a statement. "This settlement will restore the competition that was prevented by Questcor's illegal actions."

Mallinckrodt shares plummeted nearly 14% during trading hours Wednesday before ending the day down 6% from the open.

[the game]

It' sad because infants don't even have $40. How are they supposed to afford $34,000.

[flexilexi]

Nothing like globalist merchant banker medicine companies!

[crewskater]

Isn't this the same thing Martin Shkreli did with his drug?

[Deleted]

I would love capitalism if i produced pills in trumpland.

[LaserSharkDFB]

You could raise that money by selling the baby. It's kind of like Gift of the Magi, only with human trafficking.

But seriously, fuck these guys.

[Turaska]

To nobodies surprise, drug companies are parasites, nothing more.

[Wyrt]

But, but they need that moneys for R&D or some other bullshit!

[Deleted]

Yeah, hopefully we'll see more cases of pharmacy companies that gets this kind of treatment whenever they do such unethical things.

[Daedius]

Should be done with a lot of them, always a step though.

And people honestly wonder why the fuck I despise Pharmaceutical companies, a LOT of them are nothing but charlatans because this gross inflation of prices is all too common.

[Garnier Fructis]

That's it? Only 100 million? Should have been screwed harder.

[Azadina]

They should have taken every single cent those scammers have. Companies like that deserve nothing but banktrupcy.

[Deleted]

That's it? Only 100 million? Should have been screwed harder.

Odds are it wasn't higher because it is a somewhat rare used drug.

[Endus]

Example #4203B as to why free-market laissez-faire capitalism doesn't work out in practice. Because a market free of government influence is not automatically a "free market"; health care is a clear example where those who need it are not in a balanced negotiating position, since they can't just refuse to participate in the market without serious consequence.

- - - Updated - - -

They should have taken every single cent those scammers have. Companies like that deserve nothing but banktrupcy.

Well, there's other ways, too. "You've abused your patent filing, so we're negating it and making it public. Now all your competitors can make it, too."

[Azadina]

Example #4203B as to why free-market laissez-faire capitalism doesn't work out in practice. Because a market free of government influence is not automatically a "free market"; health care is a clear example where those who need it are not in a balanced negotiating position, since they can't just refuse to participate in the market without serious consequence.

Well, there's other ways, too. "You've abused your patent filing, so we're negating it and making it public. Now all your competitors can make it, too."

Yeah, it's not really balanced negotiating position, if I hold a vial of medicine that would prevent you from dying, and tell you "give me everything you have, or die". One party has complete power, and the other has none.

Also, why not both? Bankrupt the company that has demonstrated they should not be trusted with doing business with anyone, and give the patent to public. Now they got what they deserved, and other companies can produce the medicine within reason again.

[NED funded]

To those complaining about capitalism, this is an antitrust case, so yeah.

[NED funded]

This is why I think For Profit Prisons, and Healthcare (in all forms) should not have profit motives. They should be owned by the state (or communally by all of us).

I can understand Apple, or some other company being "private" as we stand now, but healthcare and the prison/jail systems should not have a profit motive.

I mean if thr tax payer is ok with spending 800 million or more on r&d during a long period of time with no guarantee of succes then sure

[telygroar]

this is why i think for profit prisons, and healthcare (in all forms) should not have profit motives. They should be owned by the state (or communally by all of us).

communist § burn him at the stake §

[Dezerte]

Truly despicable behavior I must say, and they got off rather easy. What should have happened is something along the lines of what Endus said, remove the patent and make the drug publicly available.

[NED funded]

We did with NASA and created a whole lot of tech as a result. Arpanet was publically funded as well.

Im starting to think you know very little of how R&D of drugs is done. so let me take you a tour. A cancer related medicine can cost around 800mill to 1.2 billion and take around 10 or more years to develop with a succes rate of 13%, not even universities are ready to pay such risk.

Also on a unrelated note fuck off anti-capitalists snobs, specially if you are foreigner because you should be fucking grateful that we subsidize your healthcare by funding R&D.