[jyl]

This is a short term strategy. Eventually, a generic drug company will develop a generic equivalent, get it approved, and figure out the necessary distribution. That will take 2-4 years. If the drug doesn't sell enough per year, generic companies won't bother making the investment to do this, but in that case the price increase doesn't actually matter in the big picture. If you hugely raise the price of a drug, but hardly anyone takes the drug, then it isn't really a societal problem. It is a problem for a few unlucky individuals who don't have Medicare or adequate private insurance.