The New York time wrote that the sharp increase in the prices of specialty drugs is partly linked to the fact that some companies buy old drugs to transform them into new "specialty drugs".
Monday 21 September 2015 – Reuters
21 September (Reuters) - Wall Street indices trimmed some of their gains mid-session, weighed down by biotech stocks after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted that she will announce a plan to halt price gouging for specialty drugs.
The S&P and Nasdaq composite veered into negative territory after the announcement, although the former has since recovered above parity. Biogen sells 5,3% and Gilead sells 2,5%.
The S&P healthcare index is the only one down. Nasdaq biotech is nearly down on 4%. Today the New York time wrote that the sharp increase in the prices of these drugs is partly linked to the fact that some companies buy old drugs to transform them into new "specialty drugs".
“Price gouging like this in specialty drugs is offensive. Tomorrow I will outline a plan to address this,” Clinton tweeted.
The stocks opened higher today, recovering some of last week's losses, as the Fed's decision to keep interest rates near zero raised fears about the health of the global economy.
However, investors will keep their eyes on some central bank officials' speeches this week, particularly Fed chair Janet Yellen on Thursday, looking for clues as to when the central bank might decide to hike rates.
Around 19.50, the Dow Jones rose by 0.49%, the S&P 500 by 0.33%, the Nasdaq dropped by 0.05%.
GoPro fell 8.1% after Barron's said shares of the camera maker could drop to $25 as the launch of its latest product failed to wow customers.
Chipmaker Atmel jumped by 12.4%, a day after Dialog Semiconductor announced it had reached an agreement to acquire the company for about $4.6 billion.
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Usa: the price of a drug rises from 13 dlr to 750 per pill
Literally overnight, the price of a drug that treats even lethal parasitic infections like toxoplasmosis rose from $13.50 a pill to $750.
American doctors and infectious disease specialists have protested against the incredible surge in the cost, which occurred immediately after the rights to the drug - which is moreover 60 years old - were acquired by the company 'Turing Pharmaceuticals': a start-up led by a former hedge-fund manager, Martin Shkreli, 32 years old.
The drug with the trade name of 'Daraprim', based on 'pyremethamine' is used regularly in US hospitals and is also an anti-malarial.
According to Judith Aberg - director of the infectious ward of Mount Sinai hospital in New York - not only is there no justification for the price increase, but "the risk is that doctors will start treating patients with less effective but less expensive medicines ”.
Shkreli defended the sensational increase, arguing that with the proceeds the company will be able to finance new studies for the development of alternative drugs to 'Daraprim'.
