Pharmaceutical company jacks up the cost of preventing premature babies: good ole Capitalism or bad medicine for moms?

KV Pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of progesterone a drug that prevents premature labor in pregnant moms, will increase the cost of the drug from $10 per dose to $1,500 per dose. Presently, progesterone costs about $10 per week over the course of 20 weeks for mothers with high risk pregnancies.  At the cost of $1,500 per dose over the course of 20 weeks, progesterone will cost an estimated $30,000 per pregnancy.

The risks from premature births are well documented.  A premature baby is more likely to develop health complications, such as cerebral palsy.  Studies show that premature births cost an average of $51,000 in the first year and they account for $26 billion in medical costs annually.

According to KV Pharmaceutical, the company paid $200 million to acquire exclusive rights to sell progesterone, which it will market as Makena.   The company justifies the increase in costs by citing the expense of research and development.

However, as pointed out by an article published today in the U.S.A. Today by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, the development of progesterone was funded by the National Institutes of Health--not KV Pharmaceutical!   This means that KV Pharmaceutical is benefitting from taxpayer funded research and making a huge profit by grossly overcharging consumers for this lifesaving medication.

Pharmaceutical companies should make a profit from the new drugs they make, but KV Pharmaceutical did not fund the research and development of Progesterone--YOU, THE TAXPAYER, FUNDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGESTERONE.  With the increase in the cost of progesterone, pregnant moms may not be able to afford a potentially life-saving medication that was created with taxpayer money.

Does this make sense to you?  Should moms with high risk pregnancies be denied progesterone by KV Pharmaceuticals? Does this get you mad as hell?

If you want more information about progesterone and preventing premature labor in pregnant moms, I welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 866-889-6882.  You can request my FREE book at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrghts.com.