releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/editorial-everyone-pays-with-drug-price-gouging
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/editorial-everyone-pays-with-drug-price-gouging | Editorial: Everyone pays with drug price-gouging | 2015-11-19 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | Editorial: Everyone pays with drug price-gouging Thursday, November 19, 2015 By: Editorial Board It is unconscionable sometimes even deadly for pharmaceutical companies to jack up the costs of life-saving drugs just because they can. But, absent meaningful reform of federal regulations, its clear that some drug makers likeTuring Pharmaceuticals, which boosted the price of a treatment for parasitic infections from $13.50 a tablet to $750 overnight will continue to put profits over patients lives. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., isleadingthe charge against such price-gouging. We need to get to the bottom of why were seeing huge spikes in drug prices that seemingly have no relationship to research and development costs, said Ms. McCaskill, announcing a bipartisan Senate investigation into drug pricing. Ms. McCaskill is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which has subpoenaed documents from four pharmaceutical companies that have significantly increased prices on drugs in recent months. They have also asked for the CEO of Turing and other pharmaceutical companies to appear at a hearing on Dec. 9. This scrutinyis absolutely necessary, some might even say critical. Pharmaceutical companies often justify outlandish prices by pointing to high research and development costs but Turing didnt invent Daraprim, the treatment for life-threatening parasitic infections so that point is moot in this case. The company acquired the rights to sell the drug, and then immediately boosted the price. This is not, unfortunately, an isolated case. In fact, there is evidence that buying up the rights to old drugs and radically increasing their prices has become a favored business strategy. Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased the rights to two heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress, then promptly and dramatically raised the costs for both. Even somegeneric drugsare seeing enormous price hikes: coxycycline, an antibiotic thats been around for decades, went from $20 a bottle to $1,849. Such unjustifiedincreases can put needed medications out of the reach of some patients and can blow holes in state and federal health care budgets. Health insurance companies, not ordinarily the subject of much sympathy, also bear the brunt of this kind of price gouging, and you can bet they will pass a good chunk of the cost onto customers. A new wave of expensive specialty drugs, like recently approved treatments for hepatitis C and a new class of cholesterol medication, will only add to concerns about rising costs. An analysis by Avalere Health paid for by a health insurance industry group found that 10 new breakthrough therapies could cost state and federal governments $50 billion over the next 10 years, with private insurance companies facing similar costs. Pharmaceuticals can save lives and dramatically improve the treatment of serious illnesses, but unrestrained prices can bankrupt patients and cripple state and federal health care budgets. Drug companiesneed to be able to recoup legitimate research and development expenses and make reasonable profits, but Congress must find ways to end the kind of irrational price-gouging exemplified by the Daraprim situation. Democratic presidential candidatesHillary ClintonandBernie Sandershave offered proposals to bring down prescription drug costs. Ms. Clintons proposal would force drug companies to invest more in research and development, and allow greater use of generics. That is not the way the market is supposed to work. That is bad actors making a fortune off of peoples misfortune, said Ms. Clinton. Pharmaceutical companies can charge astronomical fees, far beyond anything it would take to recoup their investment. Mr. Sanders plan would empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices a long overdue step. The proposal would also allow consumers to order cheaper drugs from Canada and require drug companies to disclose the prices they charge in other countries. Steps must be taken to end pricing abuses. Ms. Clinton is correct: This is not how the market is supposed to work. If pharmaceutical companies insist on abusing the free market, then regulatory reform is clearly necessary. This editorial was commissioned from freelance editorialists and edited by the Post-Dispatch editorial board. Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |