IPXLE Impax Laboratories (MM)

A small pharmaceutical company that has come under fire for a more than 50-fold hike in the price of a drug used to fight a parasitic infection will cut the price, though it is still working out by how much, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The drug, Daraprim, had cost $13.50 a tablet before Turing Pharmaceuticals AG bought the U.S. rights in August from Impax Laboratories Inc. and raised the price to $750. The increase became a poster child for high drug prices, which have been attacked by drug-benefit managers and some Democrats.

Over the last few days, privately held Turing and Chief Executive Martin Shkreli have resisted criticism over Daraprim's price hike, saying the drug had been underpriced and the higher returns would fund research into a new and better treatment.

Mr. Shkreli had also rejected cutting the drug's price, while lashing out at critics on social media. Mr. Shkreli didn't respond to requests for comment.

The company expects to finalize the amount of the price reduction over the next few days, the person familiar with the matter said. News of the price cut was reported earlier by NBC News and ABC News.

The company also plans to announce other steps to make it easier for patients to obtain the drug, the person said. Turing already had offered to help subsidize out-of-pocket costs and provide the drug free to the uninsured, according to the person.

Daraprim is a half-century-old drug used to treat an infection from the toxoplasma parasite that affects more than a million people a year in the U.S. It can be life-threatening in those who have weakened immune systems, such as pregnant women and HIV patients.

The price hike was the latest example of how some drug companies are buying rights to medicines they view as underpriced and then charging significantly more, the subject of an article in April in The Wall Street Journal that prompted two Democrats in Congress to start an investigation.

Daraprim's higher price prompted an outcry from some patient advocates, especially those representing people infected by the HIV virus.

After a New York Times article on the price hike, Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, tweeted on Monday about such "price gouging" and vowed to issue a plan for curbing high drug prices, which she did Tuesday. Analysts said the tweet contributed to a big drop in biotech company share prices on Tuesday.

Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2015 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT)

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