The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
Written by Kenzie Kesselring, Opinions Editor
The rising cost of drug prices has been a topic of debate in Washington lately because it affects nearly every American at some point in his or her life.
Many drugs that people need to survive are bought and sold between drug companies causing their cost to fluctuate frequently.
Many drug companies, much like the one that recently raised the cost of a widely used drug 5,000 percent, claim that these rising costs are necessary to do more research to develop the drug further. However, when these companies raise the prices so much that they become unattainable to people, their research does no good.
The drug drawing the most attention to the topic right now is used by HIV and cancer patients to help their compromised immune systems. Daraprim
once cost patients $13.50 per tablet, but now costs them $750 per tablet.
This insane price jump came after Turing Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to the drug. The young CEO of the company, Martin Shkreli, faced a huge amount of backlash on social media in the weeks following the drug price spike.
The outrage felt by people using this drug is 100 percent justifiable. Even if Shkreli did increase the price to “try to stay in business,” as he told USA Today, there is no reason the cost had to increase that much.
Even if the research Turing Pharmaceuticals does drastically improves the drug and its effect on sick people, it is useless because no one will be able to afford to use it.
Even though Shkreli claimed that “this isn’t a greedy drug company trying to gouge patients,” to USA Today, many people are not buying it.
I am not a medical expert, but I have a very difficult time believing research for this drug will cost so much that a 5,000 percent price raise was necessary. This is just another example of drug companies being incredibly greedy and feeding on people who have no choice but to purchase the drug, even if it doesn’t fit into their budget.
The rising cost of drugs is an incredibly serious topic that needs to be addressed for American people to continue to be able to afford decent medical care.
