Synthroid Under Siege
Lawsuit Stalled, Congress Tackles Overpricing, Research Says It May Not Be Enough
Dateline: 02/28/99Synthroid is still apparently overpriced compared to its competition. If you check at various pharmacies, the price for Synthroid is still as much as twice to three times the price of competitors Levoxyl and Euthyrox. Try comparing the prices of Levoxyl and Synthroid at the Online Pharmacy, an online drugstore. Here's a price comparison of some selected dosages and quantities, as of mid- February, 1999.
| Dosage/Quantity | Synthroid | Levoxyl | Difference Mo. | Diff/Year |
| .088, 30 pills | 15.40 | 9.30 | $6.10 | $73.20 |
| .088, 90 pills | 28.20 | 9.90 | $18.30 | $219.60 |
| .2, 30 pills | 19.20 | 10.40 | $8.80 | $105.60 |
| .2, 60 pills | 29.30 | 11.70 | $17.60 | $211.20 |
Why is the price as much as three times higher? Is it because the product is better? Not according to the researchers. Remember that research -- conducted and sponsored by Synthroid's manufacturer itself -- has proven that Synthroid is bioquivalent to its competitors, and therefore Synthroid cannot legally market itself as superior to competitive brand name products. It was Knoll's alleged suppression of this research for seven years, research that they themself funded --- assuming that it would show Synthroid was better -- that was the basis for the class action lawsuit alleging seven years of overcharing in the first place. I'm sure they're still kicking themselves for having commissioned that research in the first place!
With what is merely a bioequivalent product with a seemingly unjustified and substantially higher price tag, doesn't this really raise the question as to why the product is still priced so much higher???
Why? Hey, I have a guess. How about....Big-Time Profits ?!
Drug company profits are enormous, and Knoll Pharmaceutical is no exception. The annual profits of the top 10 drug companies are estimated to be around $20 billion in 1997, according to Forbes magazine. Their operating profit margin is estimated at close to 29 percent -- three times as much as consumer products companies such as Proctor & Gamble or Colgate-Palmolive. That's a lot of money these companies are pocketing at our expense.
Synthroid in particular was also one of the drugs recently singled out in the January 1999 release of a report from the U.S. House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. This committee reported on the results of studies conducted in 20 congressional districts in the summer of 1998. The studies were attempting to discover how great the disparities were between the amounts charged to consumers for drugs, and the amounts charged to favored purchasers -- health maintenance organizations, hospitals, insurance companies, Veterans Affairs offices and others -- who purchase in bulk. In the case of Synthroid, for example, they found the monthly retail cost to seniors was $27.05 -- 1,446 percent more than the $1.75 paid by favored group purchasers. The question that this raises, is, if Synthroid can afford to charge bulk purchasers $1.75 a month, what is the actual manufacturing cost to the company, and why is it necessary to charge us consumers nearly $25 more than to purchase that same amount? And with millions of people paying their own prescription charges, how much money are Synthroid customers putting into the pockets of this company?
Now, senior citizen lobbies are going up against the pharmaceutical lobbies, two formidable forces, or as columnist Molly Ivins calls them, "the clash of the titans," over legislation that would enable Medicare to act as a bulk purchaser and thereby dramatically reduce the costs of these drugs to seniors. Molly has an excellent column about the whole effort to rein in the overpricing by pharmaceutical companies like Knoll. Visit the home page for Molly Ivin's columns, and then select the January 31, 1999 column from the Archive at the bottom of the page. As Molly says in her column:
In the single funniest news release of last year, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry lobby, described Allen's bill as a "dagger pointed at the hearts of America's senior citizens." Right, sure. A dagger. Pointed at seniors. I haven't laughed so hard since the tobacco lobby last swore that smoking had nothing to do with lung cancer.
If you did not receive any notification of the lawsuit, and are therefore not currently eligible to receive any share of the possible class action award, call the Synthroid Litigation Support Line at 1-800-853-4853. Press "3", to indicate that you "haven't sent in a claim, but want more information, or have other inquiries." Then, press "2" to indicate that you have "other questions, and want someone to call you back" and leave your message.
If You've Already Filed a Claim
If you have already filed a claim form, your name and address will be maintained by the Settlement Administrator, and you will be notified if and when the Court takes any further action on the suit. You do not need to do anything else at this time.
If Your Address Has Changed Since You Filed Your Claim
Call the support line for Synthroid litigation, 1-800-853-4853, and press "1" to submit change of address information.
Knoll Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Synthroid, maintains a Lawsuit information line, 1-800- 254-3079, but it's just a recorded message, and the same information at this line is repeated at the Synthroid Litigation Support line, 1-800-853-4853, plus that line offers options for further action. The Synthroid Claims website, has the same canned message that the Synthroid's recorded 800 number offers.
Synthroid Information in General
Knoll Medical Information Department3000 Continental Drive - North
Mount Olive, NJ 07828
Phone: 1-800-526-0221
http://www.synthroid.com
The BASF/Knoll main number is 973-426-5400
Don't hold your breath waiting for your class action settlement in the Synthroid suit. It may be a long time coming, if ever. In the meantime, the best way to put a little more money in the bank instead of the pharmaceutical company's pockets, especially if you are paying out of pocket for your thyroid hormone replacement, is to ask yourself if it's time to talk to your doctor about prescribing one of the competitive, bioequivalent, and less expensive brand name drugs.
(Synthroid is a Trademark of Knoll Pharmaceuticals.)
