Following 12,400% Price Hike in Drug Used to Treat Gout, Brown Urges Company to Rethink Decision, Calls on CMS to Investigate Ramifications

June 6, 2011
Pharmacy Choice
Targeted News Service

Drug Was Hiked From As Little As 4 Cents per Pill to $5 per Pill; For Average Gout Sufferer, Monthly Cost Has Soared From $2.40/Month to $300/Month or More

Following a 12,400 percent price hike for a gout treatment drug known as colchicine, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today sent a letter to the drug's manufacturerURL Pharmaurging the company to rethink its decision to hike the price from as little as four cents per pill to $5 per pill. Brown also sent a letter to Dr. Donald Berwick, acting director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), asking him to investigate the ramifications of URL Pharma's massive price increase of the drug, sold under the brand name Colcrys. Three million Americansprimarily senior citizensuse colchicine to treat their gout. Read more

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