Turing Pharmaceuticals Unethical Price Hikes

Turing Pharmaceuticals, a start-up run by Martin Shkreli, appeared in many headlines in 2015 (Pollack). The business received so much media attention due to an overnight increase in the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per a pill to $750 (Pollack). Despite the fact that the activity was unethical, it was completely permissible from a legal perspective.

It has to be borne in mind that the price increase was not caused by shifts in supply. Rather, it occurred because the companys CEO was driven solely by the profit motive. Furthermore, Shkreli admitted in his interview to Forbes that he should have raised prices higher (Baldelomar).

Unethical price hikes can be dealt with by the government in order to ensure that people have a reasonable level of access to crucial medications. It is necessary to allow drug imports in the cases when pharmaceutical companies suppress competition in the market. Also, it is possible to cheapen the price of the drug by facilitating the process of proving the equivalence of generic versions of medicine (Knoer). The Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) act, which was developed by healthcare providers and public health care experts, can be signed by Congress, thereby bringing down drug prices (Knoer).

In order to realize these changes, the legislative branch would have to enact relevant legislation. Specifically, the involvement of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules is needed (Pass the Creating). Also, an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is essential for passing the act. The regulation would have to be enacted at the federal level to stop the unethical practice.