Turing Will Roll Back Massive Drug Price Hike After Backlash

Clinton unveiled a plan Tuesday to cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs like Daraprim. 

Earlier in the day, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry’s main lobbying group, sought to distance itself from Turing’s move, posting on Twitter that the drugmaker “does not represent the values of PhRMA member companies.”

The group noted that Turing is not one of its members, which include global drug giants Merck, Pfizer and Novartis.

Shkreli had defended the hike as “altruistic,” claiming that the company could use the profit to research a new drug for the condition, according to The Washington Post. He said the earlier price of $13.50 just wasn’t profitable.

“It’s very easy to see a large drug price increase and say, ‘Gosh those people must be gouging,’ but when you find out the company is not making any money, what does that mean?” Shkreli told NBC News Tuesday. “It’s very hard stuff to understand.”

The drug is mostly used in the treatment of toxoplasmosis, an infectious parasite considered a “leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control. The condition is especially bad for pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems due to illnesses such as HIV-AIDS or cancer.

A federal prosecutor this year subpoenaed biotechnology company Retrophin Inc., looking for information on its dealings with Shkreli, who founded the company in 2011 and ran it until he was fired last year. The criminal probe also sought information related to Shkreli’s hedge fund, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reuters contributed to this report.