New York AG probes drugmaker accused of price gouging
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York attorney general is looking into Turing Pharmaceuticals, which came under fire last month for sharply increasing the price of treatment for a deadly parasitic infection.
When Turing bought the 62-year-old drug Daraprim in August, the company immediately hiked the price of one pill from $13.50 to $750.
The attorney general's office is probing whether Turing violated antitrust rules by curbing distribution of the drug as a means of blocking generic competition, according to a letter sent by the attorney general's office to Turing on Monday.
The letter, addressed to Turing CEO Martin Shkreli, 32, asks the former hedge fund manager to get in touch with the attorney general's office to discuss the situation, saying his company might be "unlawfully" restraining competition by distributing the drug only through a limited number of specialty pharmacies.
The letter says the New York City-based company's actions could "impede access" to a critically important drug.
Messages left with Turing were not initially returned.