WE WERE recently asked by a Freebee Foreign Pharmacy member about the generic drug Acetasol HC, and why it is so expensive today. It used to be much cheaper.

Well, I’m afraid the story tells you all you need to know about how big drug companies operate.

Acetasol HC is a drug commonly used to treat infections of the outer ear and ear canal. Earlier this year, the generic drug maker Actavis raised the price of Acetasol HC by more than 1000 percent. The old price was approximately $20. The new price is more than $230.

How did this happen? Here’s the explanation from Current Medicine

According to a company spokesperson, the reason the price of Acetasol HC was raised more than 1000% was because Actavis is now the sole manufacturer of the drug. Other generic drug manufacturers stopped making it for reasons unrelated to Actavis.

Actavis now has monopoly pricing power and raised the price to match what the drug was selling for as a branded patented drug, even though the drug is off patent and still generic.

Actavis can raise the price of Acetasol HC by more than 1000% and still sell the product due to major inefficiencies in the American healthcare system.

I suppose another generic drug maker, seeing Actavis’ huge profits, could step back into the market. Until then, the company will sell the product at whatever price it chooses, knowing that we have no choice but to accept it.