There have been a lot of stories over the past few years about drug companies charging ridiculous prices for medication. Usually, these drugs are ones that people need to either survive or endure terminal and painful illnesses. Finally, the city of Marietta had enough. They filed a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer called Mallinckrodt.
Mallinckrodt produces a drug called Acthar. It’s used primarily to help infants with seizure disorders and people with multiple sclerosis. The drug has been on the market for over 70 years. And, back in 2001, the drug cost about $40 per dose.
Recently, however, the company has raised their prices for the drug. It now costs about $39,000 for one single dose of Acthar. The reason the City of Marietta is upset is because there are over 1,000 city employees on their health insurance plan. They said it has cost them over $2 million to pay for this medication – and that’s just for one patient!
One of the reasons the city (and so many patients and health care providers) is so upset is because Mallinckrodt actually has a synthetic version of the drug available. This drug is a generic and is a heck of a lot cheaper than the name brand. However, the company won’t release this version of the drug until the patent runs out on Acthar. They are making so much money, they aren’t about to release the generic version.
The City believes the manufacturer of the drug is gauging them and it’s not fair.
Neither the city nor the drug manufacturer have made any comments about the pending litigation. It will only be a matter of time, however, before we know the specific allegations and defenses that are raised in this case.
If your loved one has been harmed by a drug manufacturer, contact our personal injury firm right away.
Source: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/acthar-lawsuit/85-cdbb7656-7e01-4f36-a17d-f2642947ec96
