(Repeats story that was published earlier)
By Deena Beasley
Dec 18 (Reuters) - As Turing Pharmaceuticals Chief Executive
Officer Martin Shkreli contends with charges of securities
fraud, major U.S. pharmacies are moving to assure patients of
continued access to the company's key drug, Daraprim.
Shkreli was arrested on Thursday for engaging in what U.S.
prosecutors said was a Ponzi-like scheme at his former hedge
fund and a pharmaceutical company he previously headed
Turing officials did not respond to multiple
requests for comment on the company's future plans regarding
Shkreli or its drug distribution.
Leading pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O ,
currently the exclusive U.S. supplier of Daraprim, said it has
inventory of the drug, which has a list price of $750 per dose.
But growing public backlash against that price has resulted in
the entry of new competitors - compounding pharmacies able to
produce similar versions for a fraction of the cost.
CVS Health Corp (N:CVS) CVS.N , the No. 2 U.S. drug benefit
manager, told Reuters on Thursday it can provide an alternative
to Daraprim that is compounded by Avella Specialty Pharmacy, at
a price of $30 per 30 pills. The 62-year-old treatment is used
to fight parasitic infections in AIDS patients, pregnant women
and others.
The CVS arrangement is similar to one between Imprimis
Pharmaceuticals Inc IMMY.O , a compounding pharmacy based in
San Diego, and Express Scripts Holdings Inc ESRX.O , the
largest U.S. manager of prescription drug plans, to offer
lower-cost pyrimethamine, the generic version of Daraprim.
Compounding pharmacies operate differently from drug
manufacturers whose treatments must be approved by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration for mass sale. Instead, such pharmacies
can prepare medications only for individual patients once they
have a prescription, and must comply with state and federal
regulations.
Meanwhile, several major medical groups have started to urge
doctors to seek out such lower-cost alternatives to Daraprim,
providing detailed instructions on how to do so.
Walgreens said in an emailed statement that it has "urged
Turing to expand the number of specialty pharmacies to promote
greater access, and it is our understanding that they will be
doing so in the near future." Turing officials could not be
reached for comment.
Turing, founded by Shkreli early this year, has made
front-page headlines since it bought the rights to Daraprim in
August for $55 million from Impax Laboratories Inc IMPAX.O .
With no rival manufacturers making the drug, Turing quickly
raised the price for a tablet of Daraprim to $750 from $13.50.
The move sparked widespread criticism - first by medical
groups such as the Infectious Diseases Society of America and
the HIV Medicine Association, followed by presidential
candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump.
Overnight, the tiny company was vilified as an example of
pharmaceutical industry greed, an accusation also leveled at
much bigger players like Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O and
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (N:VRX) VRX.N .
Turing said last month that it would not change the list
price of Daraprim, but would offer the drug to hospitals at a
discount of up to 50 percent.
"We don't have any reason to believe that the allegations of
an investment Ponzi scheme by Turing's CEO will encumber
production of Daraprim," a spokesman for Kaiser Foundation
Health Plan said in an emailed statement. "However, we are still
waiting to see proof of Mr. Shkreli's promise to reduce the
price of this needed generic drug."
Shkreli, who began his career working for various hedge
funds, in 2008 formed a partnership to launch MSMB Capital
Management, which became known for filing requests to the Food
and Drug Administration to reject products developed by Navidea
Biopharmaceuticals NAVB.A and MannKind Corp MNKD.O . MSMB
profited by selling short the stock of both companies.
Retrophin Inc RTRX.O , initially a portfolio company
operated from the MSMB offices, was created in 2011 with an
emphasis on biotechnology. Shkreli was president and CEO at
Retrophin, which says it focuses on treatments for serious,
catastrophic, or rare diseases, until October 2014, when he was
fired by the company's board.
Retrophin's board earlier this year accused Shkreli in a
lawsuit of using $65 million in company funds to repay MSMB
investors who had lost money. Shkreli also sits on Turing's
board along with Chairman Ron Tilles, who formerly worked at
Retrophin, and one other member, Walter C. Blum, according to
the company's website.
Imprimis CEO Mark Baum said that even if Turing's other
investors decided to remove Shkreli, that alone would not be
enough to change the fortunes of Daraprim. While at Retrophin,
Shkreli hiked the price of its key drug, Thiola for kidney
stones, to $30 a pill from $1.50. That price has not changed
since Shkreli left.
"Once Turing went and paid what it did to buy that drug,
they were locked into raising the price," Baum said.