Coombs said he also thinks the company should support studies showing that V/Q scans are better than CT.

The company declined to comment at this time.


Tulchinsky said he doesn't believe that Jubilant DraxImage has fully justified the price increase and that Coombs' comments were "unsubstantiated and avoided the bottom-line issues."

"They're the only ones making the drug," said Tulchinsky, who recently appealed to Shyam Bhartia, the chairman and managing director of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, which oversees Jubilant Life Sciences. "So, essentially, whatever the price they want to decide to charge, that is what one is stuck with. It at least appears as price gouging."

For now, facilities have to adjust to the new normal. Dr. Christopher Palestro, professor of radiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and chief of the division of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging for the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, said the system performs approximately 700 lung scans per year and would continue to use the scan when it's indicated.

"They've provided their reasoning and there's not much we can do about it," Palestro said. "I'm not in the position of debating the merits of the price increase. Ultimately, we need to do what's best for the patient. Nobody likes a price increase for anything, but sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control. Our bottom line is patient care, and we'll do what's necessary to take care of our patients, and we'll continue to perform lung scans when they're necessary."

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