Dive Brief:
- Mark L. Baum, founder and CEO of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based pharmaceutical compounding firm, blasted companies he claims are ruining the reputation of legitimate compounding pharmacies, insisting a personalized approach to formulating drugs is a credible option to offset out-of-control drug costs, and can be an “essential piece of the health care reform puzzles.”
- In a 75-page report, Baum argued compounding can “drive competition transparency access by lowering drug costs for Americans” and touted his own company’s efforts to do just that.
- The executive’s call to action comes as critics have maligned compounding pharmacies following Food and Drug Administration investigations into some firms’ slipshod handling of drugs and maintenance of laboratories.
Dive Insight:
Ironically, the premise of pharmacy compounding fits with where much of healthcare wants to go: personalized medicine. For pharmacists, compounding is wrapped around the formulation of drugs made on the strength and dosage needs of each prescriber.
That’s the idea, anyway. Too many compounders, critics say, have run sloppy shops, evidenced by a number of FDA investigations into industry practices that have resulted in hefty fines and closures.
Baum insists the sector isn’t all below par, arguing compounders can play a vital role in checking high drug costs.
“There needs to be a refocusing of priorities, not only among some compounders and other pharmacists, but federal and state regulatory policymakers,” Baum said in a long paper published by Imprimis on Thursday.
“Safe and effective compounding of necessary medications, by serving as the pin to burst the drug pricing bubble that has negatively affected the health and well-being of far too many Americans for too long, can be a critical part of these needed reforms,” he wrote.
He took a swipe at several recent high-profile pharma CEOS, criticizing Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, for taking advantage of the “loopholes and current policy that allowed many drug prices to skyrocket.”
“Despite public scolding by legislators and negative media attention, many pharmaceutical executives and their lobbyists remain adamant they will continue to increase prices to maximize profits,” he writes. He noted the recent congressional testimony of Mylan CEO health Bresch, who raised the price of emergency epinephrine delivery device, EpiPen, by $461, while her own salary jumped from $2.4 million to $18 million.
Baum said his own company, Imprimis, is taking steps to mitigate rising drug costs with its own programs to help patients get cheaper drugs.
Imprimis plans to expand its Imprimis Cares program and introduce new drug formulations for patient populations with limited alternatives. The program is aimed at making compounded alternatives to generic drugs manufactured by one supplier, targeted especially at several drugs made by Turing Pharmaceuticals.