Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that the Department of Financial Services Office of Pharmacy Benefits is investigating six drug manufacturers over significant price spikes on medications related to Covid-19.
The office, launched in November, is demanding the manufacturers justify the price increases under section 111 of the New York Insurance Law which permits investigations into prescription drug price increases of more than 50% within 12 months.
Three of the manufacturers are based in New Jersey: Berkeley Heights’ Hikma Pharmaceutical saw a 60% increase for its drug Duramorph; East Brunswick’s Rising Pharmaceuticals, a 98% bump for chloroquine phosphate; and Warren’s Cipla USA, an over 1,350% boost for budesonide. The other three hail from California: San Francisco’s Jaguar Health saw a 230% jump for Mytesi; Santa Ana’s McGuff Pharmaceuticals, a 110% boost for Ascor; and Torrance’s Nubrat
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the new Office of Pharmacy Benefits is investigating big price increases for six drugs connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government is looking into price increases for treatments that went up by, on the low end, around 60% to over 1,350% for one drug during the pandemic.
Kathy Whyte/ WNBF News
The Department of Financial Services says a formulation of Vitamin C that goes into IVs manufactured by McGuff Pharmaceuticals went up in price 110% about a week after clinical trials were announced for using the drug as a treatment of COVID patients with severe symptoms.
A steroid treatment produced by Cipla USA, Incorporated had its price increased by over 1,350% in the middle of the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and right after the announcement of clinical trials.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
Jan 21 (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday the Department of Financial Services was investigating into a price jump of about 60% to 1,350% in six drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York has asked drug manufacturers to explain the large spike in prices of the drugs, which included dexamethasone, a treatment proven to decrease deaths in COVID-19 patients, and chloroquine phosphate, which was touted by former President Donald Trump as a cure, but turned out ineffective.
The price for Cipla USA Inc’s Budesonide soared by over 1,350% during the first wave of the pandemic in the United States and on the heels of an announcement of clinical trials for its use against COVID-19, according to a statement released by the governor.