, Columnist
PTC Sticks Its Face in a Drug-Pricing Wasps' Nest
It buys a controversial drug, underestimating how public disgust can hurt sales.
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It's generally considered good sense to give wasps' nests a wide berth. But PTC Therapeutics Inc. just paid $140 million in cash and stock for the pleasure of sticking its face in one.
PTC on Thursday bought the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) drug Emflaza from Marathon Pharmaceuticals. The drug is an old steroid widely and cheaply available in other countries. Marathon got FDA approval for it last month and proceeded to price it at a hefty $89,000 per year.