In recent years, there has been an noticeable growth of generics and a decline of more branded drugs overall, particularly those that can be used to treat serious or chronic health conditions. With an increase in the movement of prescription drugs to over-the-counter status, many companies are looking to find alternative means of recuperating their revenues and generating funds to sustain their business for years to come.

The current environment that promotes drug development has led to increasing pressure for drug companies to come up with innovative ways to develop new molecular entities for drugs, repurposing of existing drugs, or the rebranding of older drugs that have already demonstrated efficacy, safety and tolerability.

The term "rebranding" is defined as a marketing strategy that is employed when a product is created from an already established or existing product with the intent of developing a new or differentiated identity. At times, this can be associated with a significant change to the original product in an effort to increase awareness or reawaken people to the new indication. Other times, it can be the same product presented in different packaging.

While the trend of repurposing older drugs is not new to the pharmaceutical industry, the practice of increasing the price of these drugs is. A perfect example of this is the recent case of the drug pyrimethamine (Daraprim), used for the treatment of life-threatening parasitic infection.

Daraprim was obtained in August by Turing Pharmaceuticals. With its acquisition, the price of Daraprim skyrocketed from $13.50 a tablet to $750, which would be roughly equal to a yearly cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars for certain patients who may require this standard of treatment. The increase of more than 4,000 percent led to outrage, with concerns arising from medical groups and others who believe this increase was designed to profit off patients who truly need the medication.

According to Turing Pharmaceuticals, the higher price of Daraprim was designed to help subsidize the cost of developing new drugs in these disease areas, but opponents believe the increase is a way for the company to attempt to gouge patients. After receiving so much negative coverage, Turing decided to lower the price of the drug, primarily over concern that prescribers would seek out other options for their patients.

The case of Daraprim is one among several cases that bring to light the new trend of increasing the price of older generic drugs (i.e., Isuprel and Nitropress) that have been established as treatment of choice but whose use in clinical practice have diminished over time. The new strategy that is being implemented is to purchase these older drugs, then convert them to higher-price specialty drugs.

The practice of rebranding older generic drugs to specialty drugs may not be one that will quickly disappear, but the recent development of Daraprim has shed light on this growing issue. Ultimately, this may lead to regulations that can serve to protect the welfare of the patient first and foremost when it comes to fair drug pricing for generic, branded and specialty drugs.