Klobuchar Statement on Makena Drug Pricing

Statement

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar released the following statement after Missouri-based drug company KV Pharmaceutical today reduced the price of its Makena drug from $1,500 to $690, although the drug went for as little as $10 before it was granted orphan status:

"Today's reduction in price for the popular pre-natal drug known as Makena is a step in the right direction but it's not nearly enough. For over 50 years this critical drug has been used as a safe, affordable treatment to help women maintain healthy pregnancies and prevent pre-term labor at a cost of as little as $10 per dose. This new price still represents a 69-fold markup from the drug's original price. At a time when rising prices for prescription drugs are stretching the budgets of middle-class families, we can't allow pharmaceutical companies to price gouge pregnant women when it comes to vital medicines."

Last month, Klobuchar sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), urging the agency to look into the company's potentially anti-competitive behavior regarding its pricing of Makena.

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