What Price for “Miracles,” and Who Pays for Them?

Whittington, Garrison, and Campbell: Challenges with judging and interpreting a drug’s launch price

WASHINGTON D.C. — Drug prices at launch continue to be debated in the lay press and other forums. But is the derived value-based price at launch from a conventional cost-effectiveness analysis a useful tool in evaluating a drug’s value over the product’s lifetime?A new publication in the American Journal of Managed Care from Melanie D. Whittington, PhD (Leerink Center for Pharmacoeconomics), Louis P. Garrison, Jr., PhD (University of Washington)…

What Price for “Miracles,” and Who Pays for Them?

There are now five drugs on the market to treat genetic disorders that are each priced at over $2 million.             They have been approved by the FDA to treat illnesses that had no curative therapy. Some, such as spinal muscular atrophy, were fatal while others such as hemophilia and sickle cell anemia led to repeated crises and frequent hospitalizations.             Are these astronomical prices justified? The pharmaceutical companies justi…

The Brazilian government took a significant step in the health area when it announced last Saturday (22) that the Unified Health System (SUS) will begin offering an innovative drug for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1. This medication, known as Zolgensma, is recognized as one of the most expensive in the world, but it will be made available free of charge to eligible patients. Aimed at children up to six months old who do no…

Agreement with manufacturer Novartis provides for payment according to the evolution of the patient's condition