Sherrod Brown: Drug firm fleecing pregnant women
USA Today – This month, pregnant women using a popular drug to prevent premature labor could see the price per dose increase from $10 to $1,500. Almost overnight, a drug company created a monopoly for an existing product by exploiting drug safety laws — bilking taxpayers and threatening public health.
The risks from premature births are well known. A premature baby is more likely to develop health complications. Premature births cost an average of $51,000 in the first year, and they account for $26 billion annually in medical costs.
Starting in 2003, some pharmacists started compounding treatments to reduce the risk of preterm birth by 36% in high-risk women. A dose of this treatment, called progesterone, costs about $10 a week over the course of 20 weeks.
