When Martin Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharma, purchased the rights to a drug, Daraprim, and hiked the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill, my first response was outrage, along with the rest of the internet. Unlike most of the internet, I also felt a distinctive jolt of fear. I am part of the small population of people who rely on Daraprim. Many articles describe Daraprim as a drug used to treat AIDS, but that’s not quite accurate. Daraprim treats toxoplasmosis. About a quarter of Americans are infected with toxoplasmosis, but for most, it’s not anything serious. Some people feel some minor flu-like symptoms for a few weeks, if they feel anything at all. For pregnant mothers and people who are immunocompromised however, toxoplasmosis is something much, much worse. Without the benefit of a healthy, developed immune system, toxoplasmosis causes ocular and neurological damage. Most of the people at serious risk are AIDS … Continue Reading ››