Daraprim price hike won’t affect SA
Pyrimethamine is sold in South Africa and manufactured by Aspen, under the brand name Daraprim®.
On August 10, Turing Pharmaceuticals announced that it had acquired the exclusive marketing rights for the drug Daraprim® or pyrimethamine from Impax Laboratories Inc. Daraprim® is a drug used in the prevention of malaria and the treatment of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection. Toxoplasmosis is most dangerous when contracted by young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
The acquisition of the drug made global headlines when Turing Pharmaceuticals announced a price hike from $13.50 to $750 per tablet. Turing CEO Martin Shkreli motivated the increase by stating, “The acquisition of Daraprim® and our toxoplasmosis research program are significant steps along Turing’s path of bringing novel medications to patients with serious disorders that often go undiagnosed and untreated”.
While American middle and low income consumers may be negatively impacted by the acquisition of the drug, South African customers can rest easy as an article published in PR Newswire indicated that the marketing rights to Daraprim® were only acquired for the United States.
Pyrimethamine is sold in South Africa and manufactured by Aspen, under the brand name Daraprim®. According to a medical doctor at the Natalspruit Hospital in Vosloorus, “a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine is used in the treatment of malaria but is not recommended due to resistance”.
