StreetSweeper Releases First Questcor Piece; Shares Pop

TheStreetSweeper.org, the Web site known for exposing corporate chicanery at publicly traded companies, has released the widely anticipated

investigative piece on California-based biotech firm Questcor Pharmaceuticals

. In its report, StreetSweeper

. According to the report, Questcor reportedly paid just $100,000 for Acthar, a product the previous owner dropped because it was a money-loser. Today, Questcor charges up to $250,000 for a single dose, according to StreetSweeper. Questcor, which has pitched Acthar as a treatment for kidney-related disorders, sold more than $210 million worth of the drug last year and if current trends prove accurate, that number could surge to $330 million in revenue this year, StreetSweeper reported. Prescriptions for Acthar more than doubled on a sequential basis in the fourth quarter. The company had previously said it could label Acthar as a treatment for nephrotic syndrome. However, when approached by StreetSweeper to confirm whether the FDA has actually given the company permission to market Acthar as a treatment for nephrotic syndrome, the company retreated and said it sticks to the more restrictive language included on its drug label when pitching Acthar to physicians instead, according to StreetSweeper. Questcor claims it takes regulatory requirements seriously when marketing its products, but former staffers say as recently as last summer, the company offered no compliance training to employees. Acthar isn't actually a new drug. It was approved by the FDA in the 1950s. Questcor acquired the drug in 2001 and today the company is focused solely on Acthar. The drug also is used to treat a rare and potentially fatal form of epilepsy called infantile spasms and multiple sclerosis, according to AllBusiness. By the admission of its CEO, Questcor is "more of a sales company" and the company has no clear “firewall” between its marketing and its medical divisions, according to StreetSweeper. The nonprofit group Taxpayers Against Fraud told StreetSweeper the age and high price of Acthar make the drug's sudden popularity "inexplicable." “With a company like Questcor, which is selling a 60-year-old drug,” TAF's Patrick Burns told StreetSweeper, “I doubt that genius will be found.”