Petrelis Files

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What's SF DPH's Cost for Shkreli/Turing Pharma's Daraprim?

There are too many creative ways for government officials to hide public info and records. With the San Francisco Department of Public Health, they're claiming propriety privilege for a health consortium as reason for withholding the cost of how much the department has paid in the past and is paying now for the drug daraprim.

This is the drug greedy Martin Shkreli of Turing Pharmaceutical raised the price of from $13 to $750 a pill literally overnight, supposedly for altruistic purposes. Among its several uses is treating toxoplasmosis, a nasty infection that HIV poz people are susceptible to.

(ACT UP/New York demonstrated against Turing Pharma last week.)

Here's my exchange in recent days with DPH regarding what the City shells out to Turing for daraprim. DPH has a duty to tell the public what the cost is to the department, especially if it's the higher cost:

SF DPH Response #1:

Mr. Petrelis, This is in response to your Immediate Disclosure Request on September, 17, 2015.

1. The list of all drugs DPH has purchased from Turing Pharmaceuticals. – Daraprim.

2. Cost breakdown by drug of any medicines from the company. – There are no records responsive.

3. Copy of any purchasing contracts with them or their agents. – There are no records responsive.

4. Copies of all emails between the company or their agents. – There are no records responsive.

5. If Daraprim is among the drugs DPH purchases from the company, copies of all records - emails, contracts, paper/snail mail correspondence - pertaining to this drug to treat toxoplasmosis. – There are no records responsive. Thank you.

SF DPH Response #2:

Mr. Petrelis,

San Francisco General Hospital purchases pharmaceuticals through a group purchasing organization called the University HealthSystem Consortium, or UHC. All pricing information for pharmaceuticals is proprietary to the UHC. Thank you.