When he raised the price of an HIV drug by hundreds of dollars, he became the most hated man in America.
Now, Martin Shkreli has done it again.
Previously, Martin Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $700 per pill.
Now, he’s bought out the majority of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals. This means he’s acquired benznidazole, a drug used to treat Chigas in South America. The disease is very prevalent there.
Right now, the drug only costs an affordable $50-$100 per two months of treatment.
The New York Times estimates that now, the drug could be raised to a similar price to the Hepatitis C drug. This drug costs anywhere between $60,000-$100,000 per treatment.
This is a problem, considering there are about 300,000 people in the United States who currently suffer from Chigas.
Not only that, America has recently experienced an outbreak of the kissing bug. This is one of the main ways that Chigas disease spreads.
Several clinics currently provide the anti-Chigas medication for free. However, this price raise means that a vast part of the US and South America would have treatment unavailable to them.
Shkreli says that the number of people who suffer from Chigas and require treatment every year is between 3,000 and 7,000, which in his eyes, isn’t enough for it to matter if he raises the prices. He needs to make money off the drug, after all, he says.
What does this mean for sufferers of Chigas? Hopefully another drug company, or at least some insurance companies, come to the rescue. Otherwise, this may mean a much heftier price for people who may not be able to afford it.
