Turing Pharma CEO Now Says He'll Lower Price For Life-Saving Drug

NEW YORK, NY (WJZ) -- A pharmaceutical company is under fire after it spiked the price of drugs by more than 5,000 percent. Now it says it will lower prices.

WJZ's Gigi Barnett has more on the move to make the life-saving drug more affordable.

Experts say most drug companies have to match the price of competition when they price their products. Turning Pharmaceuticals CEO Martini Shkreli was able to hike up the price because Turing had no competition.

When the drug company that makes the life-saving pill Daraprim announced this week that it would raise its price by 5,000 percent, the internet exploded with tweets and posts against it.

At the center of the controversy is Shkreli, who wouldn't budge from this decision, claiming that his company needed to make a profit.

"Turing is a very small company. It's a new company and we're not a profitable company,' he said. " So for us to try to exist and make a profit, I think is pretty reasonable."

The drug Daraprim treats a parasitic infection, which can be deadly for patients with compromised immune systems like those with cancer or AIDS.

The price of Daraprim used to cost a little more than $13, but Shkreli raised it to $750 per pill.

Doctors and patients' rights groups called the hike "unjustifiable."

But it's not illegal.

"What has happened here actually happened before. This is not that uncommon," Dr. Sanjay Gupta said to CNN. " You got a situation where this person basically has a drug that is widely needed and he can charge whatever he really wants to charge."

But now Shrkeli is backing down, saying he'll make the drug more affordable.

"We've agreed to lower the price of Daraprim to a point that is more affordable and it's able to allow the company to make a profit, a very small profit," he said.

At the same time, we're learning more about the 32-year-old's background in the pharmaceutical industry.

His bio says what he learned about selling lifesaving drugs, he developed as a hedge fund manager.

The board of directors of Shrkeli's first pharma company "Retrophin" -- which he founded in 2011 -- fired him and filed a multimillion suit against him saying he "used control over Retrophin to enrich himself."