WASHINGTON – Two top lawmakers on Thursday demanded information from a drug company that has raised prices on a leukemia drug, calling increases of tens of thousands of dollars a sign the company puts profits before patients.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote Ariad Pharmaceuticals and asked about price hikes for Iclusig, which is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia in some people.
The company raised the cost of the drug four times in 2016 to an almost $200,000 yearly cost, an increase of more than $80,000 over the last several years.
“These outrageous sales tactics indicate that Ariad is more concerned with its profit than with its patients,” Sanders and Cummings wrote.
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