The New York attorney general is looking into whether Turing Pharmaceuticals may have violated antitrust rules by restricting distribution of Daraprim as a way to thwart generic competition.
As reported by the NY Times, the attorney general's letter points out that generic competition was expected after Turing raised the price of the 62-year old drug by 5000% in September, but yet it appears as though Turing took steps to prevent this.
By combining a substantial price increase for Daraprim with a closed distribution system, Turing can restrict distribution and prevent or delay generic competition. Daraprim has been removed from distribution by the usual wholesalers and by retail drugstores.
After public backlash on the price increase, Turing CEO Martin Shkreli made a public statement three weeks ago saying he would lower the cost of the drug to make it more affordable -- and that price decrease has yet to happen.
