BY STEVE NUBIE Many prescription drug prices in the U.S. are soaring and the reason is driven by greed, corruption and ineffective government legislation. The current outrage over the rising price of pharmaceuticals was inflamed when Martin Shkreli, the CEO of Turning Pharmaceuticals raised the price of a prescription medicine designed to treat cancer and HIV 5,000%. A pill called Daraprim that used to cost $13.50 was hiked to $750 for one dose. This is a medicine designed to be taken for weeks on a daily basis at home. For most people the price was out of reach. Recently, the pharmaceutical company “Mylan” raised the price of Epipens from $100 for a twin-pack to $650. Epipens are portable syringes designed to inject epinephrine or adrenaline for someone suffering from a severe allergic reaction. These reactions can be caused by everything from bee stings to food and other factors, but when they occur treatment needs to be administered immediately.
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