The 12 Most Controversial Price Hikes of the Last Year

Prices have soared for possible treatments and in-demand items.

By Gabrielle Olya March 12, 2021

When former President Donald Trump was ill with COVID-19, he was administered several different treatments to relieve his symptoms and shorten the course of his illness. These included Regeneron's investigational monoclonal antibody therapy, antiviral drug remdesivir, corticosteroid drug dexamethasone, supplemental oxygen, zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and daily aspirin, CNN reported.

After the details of Trump's treatment were reported, shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals leaped almost 10%, Business Insider reported. And the cost of his remdesivir treatment? A cool $3,120 for the five-day treatment course -- a price that has been met with mixed reactions since its maker Gilead Sciences announced it in June.

While the price of Trump's miracle drug is already high, it's not the only costly item of the pandemic.

Chloroquine

Before he got the coronavirus, Trump stated in May 2020 that he was taking daily doses of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which he touted as a potential coronavirus cure despite warnings from medical experts and the Food and Drug Administration that it might not be effective and could have potentially harmful side effects, CNN reported. President Joe Biden criticized Trump for taking the drug, calling it “totally irresponsible” during a virtual town hall on May 19.

 “There’s no serious medical personnel out there saying to use that drug. It’s counterproductive. It’s not going to help,” Biden said.

In addition to influencing others to take a potentially ineffective drug, Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine may have had another effect — a price increase for the pharmaceutical. Chloroquine -- the drug from which hydroxychloroquine is derived -- saw price increases during the same period, GoodRx reported.

Entacapone

Entacapone is another medication that's being investigated as a treatment for the coronavirus. It also saw a price increase in 2020, GoodRx reported.

Mytesi

On April 9, 2020, Mytesi  -- a drug used to treat HIV -- increased in price by 230% as the manufacturer sought approval from the FDA for use as a treatment for the coronavirus patients with diarrhea, GoodRx reported. The FDA did not approve Mytesi for this use, but its manufacturer is continuing to evaluate its effectiveness against the coronavirus.

Hand Sanitizer

Some sellers on Amazon have resold hand sanitizer for huge markups. One seller, Matt Colvin, was selling bottles for up to $70 each, The New York Times reported. Amazon cracked down on price gouging soon after, and his items were removed from the site.

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