Pharmaceutical Company Mallinckrodt Sued Over Seizure Drug Cost

The city of Marietta has filed a class action lawsuit against drug manufacturer Mallinckrodt, claiming the company increased the price for a specific seizure medication by 97,500 percent, according to local news sources.

Acthar is specifically used to treat seizures in children but is only needed by one city employee, according to the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Georgia. 

First approved in the 1950s, Acthar went for $40 a vial to more than $39,000 after Mallinckrodt acquired it in 2014.

 “This eye-popping 97,500% price increase is the result of unlawful and unfair conduct by Mallinckrodt,” the city claimed in the lawsuit.” The city has expended over $2 million for just one patient covered by the city’s self-funded health plan.”

Many individuals stood behind the lawsuit, including Ashley Ray, Kennesaw resident. “I think it’s absolutely terrible,” said Ray. “I think everyone should be able to afford medications, especially children. They should be sued.”

Another resident also said that Acthar is “way too expensive,” and is hoping Metro City wins the lawsuit. 

Ira Katz, an Atlanta pharmacist, explained that Acthar is “biologic” and can be classified as a specialty drug, which boosts the prices an “outrageous” amount. 

Associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Stacie Dusetzine, emphasized that this substantial drug increase just furthers the ongoing national problem with market-driven drug prices.

“A company can choose to do this to any drug a person is taking at any time,” Dusetzine said. “I think it’s important for people to realize this has some particularly egregious elements, but this is not the only drug where we see this behavior.” 

Despite these concerns, Mallinckrodt believes it is innocent of any wrongdoing.  

“In 2017, Mallinckrodt specifically offered to work with representatives for the city of Marietta in response to inquiries the city had made about the price of Acthar. The City declined to meaningful participation in the process,” a spokesperson for Mallinckrodt told local new sources. “Under our stewardship, any price adjustment to Acthar have been limited to the mid-single digit percentage range.” 

But this isn’t the first time that Mallinckrodt has found themselves in hot water. In 2017, the company paid $100 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over alleged antitrust violations. And in 2019, it paid more than $15 million to the US Department of Justice to settle claims that it paid illegal kickbacks to doctors. 

Mallinckrodt will continue to fight the current lawsuit and voiced it has patient care at the forefront of its mission, with an investment of over $600 million in clinical trials, manufacturing improvements, and various other programs. 

“We want to help ensure patients have access to and can benefit from our therapies. That’s why we offer significant discounts to many payers and customers, which the prior owner (Questcor) did not,” the company explained.