Posted by Michael Wonder on 14 Feb 2017
Lawmakers slam new $89,000 price tag on rare disease treatment: ‘unconscionable’
13 February 2017 - Politicians are, once again, concerned that a drug company that plans to sell an old medicine for a very high price is taking advantage of the system.
On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings sent a letter to the chief executive of Marathon Pharmaceuticals, arguing that the Illinois company is"abusing” government policies that encourage the development of treatments for extremely rare diseases, called orphan diseases.
“We urge you to significantly lower your price for this drug before it goes on the market next month,” they wrote. “Marathon’s apparent abuse of government-granted exclusivity periods and incentives to sell what should be a widely available drug for $89,000 a year is unconscionable.”
