At risk births go without needed drug

POQUOSON, Va. (WAVY) - A Virginia law meant to protect consumers is now hurting moms to be.

Since 1990, Poquoson Pharmacy owner David Creecy has been compounding 17 HP. It's a drug given to pregnant women who aren't producing enough progesterone.

Progesterone is a naturally occurring hormone in the body. Without enough of it, a mom to be could deliver prematurely or miscarry.

A Virginia law gave pharmacists like Creecy permission to make or compound the drug.

"There were places you could buy it for as little as $10 or it could be maybe in the $35 range," said Creecy.

Recently KV Pharmaceutical started manufacturing the drug and charging much more.

"Their cost is $1,500 per dose," said Creecy. However, the price has since gone down to $690.

"You're going to take a pregnancy now and you're going to add $30,000," he continued.

"When it first broke it was probably daily, several phone calls a day, with women literally in tears," said Creecy.

Insurance doesn't always cover the drug. What's worse, the same Virginia law that permits pharmacists to compound drugs, prevents them from making drugs that are commercially available.

"This is an issue that probably is going to take a legislative fix and as you know the legislature doesn't meet 'til January so we're looking at a year until we get a fix. In the meantime unfortunately patients may go without this medication and may lose children over it," said Creecy.

Creecy hopes the legislative fix will prevent something like this from ever happening in Virginia again.

"That's one of the reasons we need to fix this. We don't know what's down the road," said Creecy.

Public Relations spokesperson Jennifer Forst said, "The revised price of Makena takes into consideration four principal factors: (1) the costs associated with advancing Makena through the FDA approval process; (2) the costs of manufacturing; (3) the costs of the company infrastructure needed to bring a new drug to market; (4) and the costs of investments going forward."