In an era when huge price hikes for prescription drugs are almost guaranteed to draw criticism, is there any circumstance when a 486% percent increase for a medicine might appear to be justified?
A small company called Harrow argues that it can make the case for an injectable eye treatment that has been used to combat several serious conditions. Company executives maintain the medication, which has been largely out of stock for the past few years, requires substantial investment in order to restore a steady supply and, moreover, was substantially underpriced.
But some industry experts say a successful relaunch will largely depend on reactions among eye specialists. In addition, the notable price hike also highlights a question about the extent to which penalties that are assessed by Medicaid and Medicare — which are levied for raising drug prices above inflation — are sometimes considered to be a cost of doing business.