The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state of New York have filed suit against disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals for stifling competition to protect the monopolistic pricing of the drug Daraprim (pyrimethamine), reports Jurist.
Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, and despite Vyera Pharmaceuticals being the only US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved source of the medication, Shkreli and Vyera raised the price of the drug by more than 4,000% overnight, from $17.50 to $750 per tablet, after they purchased the rights to Daraprim in August 2015.
New York State attorney general Letitia James said that Shkreli and Vyera enriched themselves by “despicably” increasing prices and also held the “critical drug hostage” from patients and competitors as they illegally sought to maintain their monopoly. “We filed this lawsuit to stop Vyera’s egregious conduct, make the company pay for its illegal scheming, and block Martin Shkreli from ever working in the pharmaceutical industry again.”
The report says Daraprim is the only FDA approved drug for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease which may pose serious and often life-threating consequences for those with compromised immune systems, including individuals with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
[link url="https://www.jurist.org/news/2020/01/ftc-new-york-sue-martin-shkreli-for-illegal-drug-monopolization/"]Full Jurist report[/link]