Sanders decries massive price hike on medication

Sen. Bernie Sanders is calling a pharmaceutical company’s decision to price at $375,000 per year a drug that was previously offered free to those with a rare autoimmune disorder “an immoral exploitation of patients who need this medication.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is calling a company’s decision to price at $375,000-a-year a drug that was previously offered free to those with a rare autoimmune disorder “an immoral exploitation of patients who need this medication.”

In a letter addressed to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals CEO Patrick J. McEneny dated Monday, Sanders called the change “a blatant fleecing of American taxpayers,” adding “I am profoundly concerned that Catalyst’s actions will cause patients to suffer or die.”

The company declined to comment. The drug in question is called Firdapse, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November for the treatment of Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome, or LEMS, in adults.

The FDA describes LEMS as “a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the connection between nerves and muscles and causes weakness and other symptoms in affected patients.”

The high cost of prescription medicine has been blamed as one of the drivers of rising U.S. health care costs. In January, the Trump administration announced a plan to eliminate some rebates paid by drugmakers in government programs such as Medicare to lower the prescription costs.