Marathon Pharmaceuticals' $89,000 price tag for its newly approved Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug has drawn criticism from many lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reports CBS New York.
Sen. Sanders and Congressman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., on Monday sent a letter to Marathon CEO Jeffrey Aronin calling out the company for the high price of Emflaza and asking for more information on Marathon's pricing practices.
Later on Monday, Marathon said it would pause the launch of Emflaza, which has been available on foreign markets for decades and only costs about $1,200 abroad.
"Companies can charge us any price they want and that is why we are paying by far the most for medicine," said Sen. Sanders, who's called for an investigation of Marathon's pricing practices. "We are going to be their worst nightmare."
Marathon responded to the pricing criticism on Wednesday in a statement: "We hope to come to a conclusion that brings the benefit of this medicine to all patients who need it regardless of their ability to pay, and enables us to continue further research."
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