Turing Pharmaceuticals incited outrage over the high cost of specialty drugs after raising the price of Daraprim by 5,000 percent overnight in September. Now, Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S., will partner with Imprimis Pharmaceuticals to create a much cheaper alternative, according to The Chicago Tribune.
Together, Express Scripts and Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, a small drug compounder, will sell their alternative to Daraprim for just $1 per capsule compared with Turing's $750 price per pill. The new partnership will give millions of people whose pharmacy benefit is managed by Express Scripts access to the drug.
The alternative drug is a customized oral formulation of pyrimethamine, the generic version of Daraprim, and leucovorin, a form of folic acid. Express Scripts has included Imprimis in its network of pharmacies and assigned the compounded drug a reimbursement code, according to the report.
"We believe we now have an extremely cost-effective way to provide access to a Daraprim alternative," said Steve Miller, MD, senior vice president and CMO of Express Scripts, according to the report. "We will share our solution with other payers to make sure all appropriate patients around the country have access to the treatment they need at the lowest possible price."
Express Scripts and Imprimis Pharmaceuticals said they expect prescriptions for the compound drug to begin processing this week.
In September, following public outcry, Turing CEO Marti Shkreli said he would make Daraprim available at a "modestly lower" price by the end of the year. However, last week, the drug company said it would not revise the price of Daraprim, but would offer hospitals discounts of up to 50 percent on the drug.