According to The Daily Caller News Foundation, drug and pharmaceutical companies took advantage of recalls and shortages by increasing product prices by up to 1137%.
An Overview of Drug Companies and Price Hikes
Price hikes commenced on roughly 33.3% of the 120 drugs which are currently in low supply. The drugs which are experiencing the highest hikes are prescription medications which are usually inexpensive; this is problematic for individuals who depend on these medications, yet live on very tight budgets. Over the past year and a half, prescription medications and other drugs have increased in price by up to 14%.
The Wall Street Journal has additional intel on this new development:
“The average price that U.S. community retail pharmacies pay for valsartan tablets has also risen—to 31 cents a tablet from 10 cents in July, according to a Wall Street Journal review of data from a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services survey of pharmacies.”
Medicines such as methocarbamol, a relaxant for muscles, actually increased by 1137%.
The price hikes on various drugs are systemic and intentionally. The Wall Street Journal also discovered that Pranav Amin, the managing director of Alembic, boasted about raising prices and taking advantage of what drug companies apparently viewed as a business opportunity.
Amin’s remarks were delivered during a business conference call and read as follows:
“One of our roles is to create a nimble supply chain that can react quickly to market opportunities. So we could respond very fast to the valsartan opportunity, and we could ramp up our supplies and we could get on the market at a high price.”
These latest developments have raised questions about the ethics of drug companies intentionally increasing their prices.
What are your thoughts on price hikes by drug and pharmaceutical companies? Sound off in the comments section below!
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