How High? The backlash over prescription drug prices rolls onward
The backlash over prescription drug prices shows no sign of abating. Just take a look at a few developments over the past several days. Hillary Clinton wrote letters to the FDA and FTC asking them to investigate. Marco Rubio said some pricing practices amount to “pure profiteering,” And Bernie Sanders continues to dump on drug makers.
The remarks, which really reflect, popular angst, may be having an effect. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which has been lambasted for buying medicines and then jacking up prices to sky-high levels, plans to find a buyer for one business unit that has depended on price hikes for growth. And biotech investors are worried. When a Bain Capital hedge fund invested in Spark Therapeutics, the bet was the company would win approval of the first gene therapy in the US and command a premium price. But charging hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient may no longer be a sure thing.