What Goes Up-But Doesn't Come Down

摘要

Even the cost of routine drugs can defy the usual laws of economics. Case in point: glycopyrrolate, a hospital staple used to dry up secretions before surgery. After Daiichi Sankyo's Luitpold Pharmaceuticals division temporarily closed a factory producing the medicine in 2012 to fix quality-control problems, Hikma Pharmaceuticals-the only other maker-raised prices on its inject-able version of the drug more than 800 percent over the next year. Both companies are again making the drug. Yet despite the now-plentiful supply, Hikma's price remains more than eight times higher than in early 2013. And Luitpold has followed suit.