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In the United States in 2015, Turing Pharmaceuticals was criticized for increasing the price 50-fold, from US$13.50 to $750 a tablet, leading to a cost of $75,000 for a course of treatment reported at one hospital. United States
In the United States, in 2015, with Turing Pharmaceuticals acquisition of the US marketing rights for Daraprim tablets, Daraprim became a single-source and specialty pharmacy item, and the price was increased. The cost of a monthly course for a person on 75 mg dose rose to about $75,000/month at one hospital, or $750 per tablet while it was previously priced at 13.50.Outpatients could no longer obtain the medication from a community pharmacy, but only through a single dispensing pharmacy, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, and institutions could no longer order from their general wholesaler, but had to set up an account with the Daraprim Direct program. Presentations from Retrophin, a company formerly headed by Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing, from which Turing acquired the rights to Daraprim, suggested that a closed distribution system could prevent generic competitors from legally obtaining the drugs for the bioequivalence studies required for FDA approval of a generic drug.Shkreli defended the price hike by saying, "If there was a company that was selling an Aston Martin at the price of a bicycle, and we buy that company and we ask to charge Toyota prices, I dont think that that should be a crime." As a result of the backlash, Shkreli hired a crisis public relations firm to help explain his funds move.
Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic diseases toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis. It is also used with dapsone as a second-line option to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia  in people with HIV/AIDS. It was previously used for malaria but is no longer recommended due to resistance. Pyrimethamine is taken by mouth.Common side effects include gastrointestinal upset, severe allergic reactions, and bone marrow suppression. It should not be used by people with folate deficiency that has resulted in anemia. There is concern that it may increase the risk of cancer. While occasionally used in pregnancy it is unclear if pyrimethamine is safe for the baby. Pyrimethamine is classified as a folic acid antagonist. It works by inhibiting folic acid metabolism and therefore the making of DNA.Pyrimethamine was discovered in 1952 and came into medical use in 1953. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. It was approved as a generic in the United States in February 2020. Medical uses
Pyrimethamine is typically given with a sulfonamide and folinic acid.It is used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, actinomycosis, and isosporiasis, and for the treatment and prevention of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Toxoplasmosis
Pyrimethamine is also used in combination with sulfadiazine to treat active toxoplasmosis.