Daraprim, a drug used to treat a life-threatening parasitic infection, is stirring up controversy in the healthcare world following at price change that will leave some patients forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars more than usual.

The drug, whose generic name is pyrimethamine, was acquired in August by Turing Pharmaceuticals. The company immediately changed the price per tablet from $13.50 to $750.

The price increase could force hospitals to use "alternative therapies that may not have the same efficacy," Dr. Judith Aberg, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a news release for the American Pharmacists' Association.

Martin Shkreli, the founder and chief executive of Turing, defended the company's decision, saying the price is in line with those of other drugs used infrequently to treat rare conditions.