Tuesday, January 31, 2012
FDA Approval And Drug Companies
We have talked about patents on drugs and the market environment for pharmaceutical companies in one of our most recent classes. I saw an article today that was posted on the NY Times (click here for link) saying that the FDA just approved a drug that will treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. According to an article on the same topic on the Huffington Post, the drug will cost a whopping $294,000 per year for treatment for a single patient. As was stated in the article, this will place the drug company (of which now has two FDA approved drugs on the market) among the most expensive prescription drugs sold in the U.S. These specialty drug makers are known to charge $300,000 or more for drugs that treat very small groups of patients. It is a good example of how all the research costs need to be paid for by drugs that end up in approval. What do you think about this price point, is it simply just business?
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Man that's a tough one. So if you are one of the 1,200 people who have this very specific mutation of cystic fibrosis out of the total 30,000 Americans who have the disease what do you do? $300,000 is practically insurmountable and yet you can imagine scenarios where parents would sell their homes in order to help out a child. The company mentions having "programs" that would reduce the rate or in some cases make the treatment free. I don't know a lot about these programs, but I have a hard time believing a a large drug company would give something away for free.
ReplyDeleteA key question from a patient perspective is what will insurance cover? There are few who can afford this treatment without financial assistance. Is the drug co assuming they will get insurance approval?
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