Pharma Company Offers Cheap Version of Costly Turing Drug

A drug company will begin selling a low-cost version of Daraprim, a life-saving drug at the center of a firestorm over the practices of some pharmaceutical companies after it was acquired and its new owner increased the price more than 5,000 percent.

Imprimis Pharmaceuticals will supply capsules containing the two active ingredients in Daraprim, pyrimethamine and leucovorin, for as little as $99 for a bottle of 100 capsules. The company makes custom drugs for individual patients.

Daraprim, a 62-year old drug, is the only approved treatment for a life-threatening parasitic infection. [The drug is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be dangerous for people living with AIDS as well as babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy.] Former hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli's Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired the rights to the drug and jacked up the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill overnight.

Imprimis will work with insurers and others to make its capsules widely available.