February 25, 2016

Americans Surprised That

Corrupt Industry Has Corrupt
CEOs
by Darwin Mlachila
NEW YORK CITY, NY--- Americans have been in an uproar over the idea that an industry,
famous for its flagrant corruption, has individuals who are publicly showcasing this industrys
mismanagement. People are shocked that pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli is making use of
the fact that there are no limits on how much a pharmaceutical company in America can price a
drug. To the surprise of millions, having no price ceilings on pharmaceutical drugs has lead to
America having the most expensive medications in the world. Shkreli came under national
attention and scrutiny when he raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750. Daraprim is a
medication which treats toxoplasmosis, a disease which kills people with weakened immune
systems. Americans were disgusted by Shkrelis seemingly inhumane decision to destroy the
affordability of a life-saving drug but industry analysts assure that we should not be surprised as
this was bound to happen eventually considering the fact that there are essentially no laws
regulating drug pricing. One analyst from the World Health Organization was cited saying that
he was amazed that this sort of price gouging hasnt happened sooner and reassures Americans
that now that one company has raised prices with reckless abandon, others will be sure to
follow.

Some Americans have suggested that the pharmaceutical industry should follow the European
model of having the government regulate the price of drugs. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer issued a

statement in response to this saying that, Allowing the government to make drugs affordable
would undermine the capitalistic nature of the pharmaceutical market, and more importantly hurt
our profits. A Pfizer executive added that we need the profits to fund drug research. When
asked how much money was being spent yearly on research, Pfizer declined to respond.