Imprimis plans to make cheaper alternative to Retrophin’s Thiola kidney stone drug

The company seeks to introduce new patent-pending tiopronin and potassium citrate delayed release (DR) compounded formulations, which are expected to be available in April this year.

The new patent-pending formulations expand Imprimis Cares compounded drug program, which will work with all third party insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and buying groups to provide its patient specific compounded drug formulations at accessible prices.

Retrophin, under former CEO Martin Shkreli, increased the price of the Thiola drug from $1.50 to $30 per tablet after purchasing the rights from Mission Pharmacal in 2014. The price of Thiola still remains high even after Shkreli’s departure.

Imprimis’ compounded alternative features tiopronin, the active drug ingredient in Thiola, and potassium citrate. It is expected to reduce the cost of therapy for cystinuria patients by over 70%.

Thiola is an adjunctive therapy to diet modification, urinary alkalinization, and high fluid intake, or who have adverse reactions to d-penicillamine.

Thiola tablets are a prescription medicine used to help avoid the formation of cystine (kidney) stones in patients who were not successfully treated with dietary changes and increased fluid intake, or who have had side effects with the d-penicillamine drug.

Imprimis is also offering compounded alternative to Turing Pharmaceuticals’ high-priced Daraprim drug, starting as low as $99 for a 100-count bottle.

Turing acquired the US rights to Daraprim in August 2015 and was criticized severely for increasing the price of the drug to $750 per tablet from $13.50 per tablet.