Rises in pharmaceutical product prices have been a growing concern for consumers, like the case of Mylan Pharmaceuticals dramatically increasing the price of the EpiPen to over $600 for two pens in the U.S. Cases like these do not necessarily mean that bad business ethics are in practice in these companies, as a defense was used that the price hikes were essential for the company to stay in business (and they are the sole provider of a vital drug). I read about a similar situation with Turing Pharmaceuticals that made headlines about a year ago. The start-up company obtained the leading care for a parasitic disease, a drug over 60 years old called Daraprim. After acquiring the drug, the company pushed prices from $13.50 to $750 a tablet. In response to criticisms, Turing offered defenses about the drug not being used very frequently and that they would use the profits to improve treatments for the disease the drug treats. Though improving treatments is beneficial to society and could be considered a ‘social responsibility’ for pharmaceutical companies, I believe this astronomical surge in price for a drug that has been around for more than six decades and is the fundamental care for a certain disease is a practice of horrible business ethics. On account of not being able to afford the new prices, people affected by the disease, and even hospitals as a whole, may have to use substitute treatments, which could be less effective or have side effects. Turing Pharmaceuticals is abusing their market power, and I believe in situations like this the government and public policy need to regulate prices.
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Pollack, Andrew. “Drug Goes From $13.50 a Tablet to $750, Overnight.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.