Not Sure ifPharmaceutical Companies are the Greediest Bastards on Earth? Well Marathon Pharmaceutics is Out to Prove That

Charging $89,000 for a drug that costs less than $2,000 in Overseas Markets

Ok Donnie, you said you were going to do something about high drug prices, well here's your chance.



"Marathon Pharmaceuticals LLC says it will charge $89,000 annually in the U.S. for a decades-old steroidal drug that was approved for U.S. sale for the first time on Thursday, a price that is as much as 70 times higher than the drug’s price overseas.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the drug, called deflazacort, to treat a rare type of muscular dystrophy that affects some 12,000 boys in the U.S., most of whom die in their 20s and 30s. The drug isn’t a cure, but it has been shown to improve muscle strength compared with a placebo, the FDA said in a statement announcing the approval."

And what about the CEO of the company, well he thinks he's doing everyone a great favor.

"Marathon Chief Financial Officer Babar Ghias defended the price in an interview. He said the company will likely receive much less in net revenue than its $89,000-per-patient list price, after providing discounts to government insurers and financial assistance to patients who can’t afford the drug.

The company will start selling the medicine under the brand name Emflaza in March, Mr. Ghias said.

Mr. Ghias, a former mergers-and-acquisitions banker, said the company showed restraint in how it priced the drug. Other new drugs for so-called orphan diseases, which affect fewer than 200,000 people nationally, have carried price tags of $300,000 annually and higher, he said.

“It’s modestly priced for an orphan drug,” Mr. Ghias said."

Gee, Mr. Ghias is a former M&A banker, who would have guessed?  Babar Ghias, another named to be added to the deplorables list. As for action by Trump, well don't hold your breath.  As for action by his HHS Secretary, well that guy probably bought stock in the company.  As for those who suffer from MD, well your money or your life.