Florida distributor to stop dealing flu vaccine

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A Florida drug distributor accused of price gouging has agreed to stop buying and selling flu vaccines and will hand over its remaining inventory, totaling about 50 doses, the attorney general said on Wednesday.

Florida sued Fort Lauderdale-based ASAP Meds, Inc., which trades as Meds-Stat, two weeks ago for deceptive and unfair trade practices. The state charged the company was selling vials of flu vaccine for $900 when the normal price range was $63 to $85 per vial. Each vial contains 10 doses.

The company called the charges unfounded and said it would fight them in court.

The United States has a shortage of about 40 million doses this flu season because vaccine maker Chiron Corp. lost its license after contamination was found at its British plant.

The shortage set off a scramble for remaining supplies and sent some Americans to Canada and Mexico for flu shots.

Florida accused Meds-Stat of taking advantage of the shortage to hike prices tenfold. “This order prevents Meds-Stat from price gouging consumers in the sale of the flu vaccine,” Attorney General Charlie Crist said in a statement.

Meds-Stat had no intention of buying or selling any more vaccine and has only five vials left to turn over to the state, said Marc Nurik, an attorney representing the company.

He denied the price-gouging charges, saying the company bought 335 vials of vaccine and paid $610 per vial for 225 vials and $250 each for the other 110. “The charges are totally false, totally ridiculous, totally unfounded. We are going to contest those charges in court,” he said.

The settlement does not end the lawsuit, but will halt the state’s bid for an injunction to force the company to stop selling vaccines, the attorney general’s office said. The vaccine turned over to the state will be distributed to the public for free.

Kansas and Texas also filed suit against Meds-Stat in recent weeks, alleging price gouging.

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