Sunday, December 6, 2009
An Arm and a Leg to Survive for a Few Months
In September, a drug designed to treat cancer was released. This drug is unique because it is the only one designed to treat a certain type of cancer: peripheral T-cell lymphoma. It is also unique because it costs $30,000 a month. This rare and aggressive cancer kills about 5,000 people a year. The drug's manufacturer, Allos Therapeutics, won't start advertising it until January, but it is available to patients now. The drug costs so much because it is the only of its kind. Allos defends the price of the drug by saying that they invested a lot to produce this drug, and others say that "there is no other choice" and that the users or Folotyn won't be using it for long anyway. This is because Folotyn doesn't kill the cancer entirely, it just shrinks the tumors. Because this cancer, is so aggressive, the patient are likely to die within a few months and will only be using Folotyn for that long. Since there are no other drugs on the market, do you guys think people will be using Folotyn and spend this much money in their last months of living?
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7 comments:
It is interesting hearing about all of these new drugs, but thj4ey all cost so much money. I suppose it is a good way for the companies to make money since most people would rather live a little longer at such a huge cost.
I understand the importance of the drug, but I find it irritating that it is so expensive. The drug companies in the US often overcharge for simple drugs. I know that the companies often put a lot of time/money into the research and development of these drugs, but I don't think its necessary to charge such high prices for the drug in a supposed effort to make up for these costs. If the drug really is as revolutionary and special as it sounds, then chances are, sales of the drug will make up the production costs even if the price is lower. Just because our health coverage system may soon change doesn't mean that drug companies should have the right to overcharge patients in fear of a more closely regulated future. I think the drug companies tend to exploit our desire to live; when people/family members are extremely sick, they will spend any amount of money to save themselves/loved ones. However, what happens after the treatment? Either the drug doesn't work, and people, or in this case maybe insurance companies, have just wasted a ton of money, or it does work, and people have spent their entire life savings or their insurance rates will forever be through the roof. Then what?
Although this drug is extremely expensive, it is worth it to live for a few months to be with your loved ones. However, most people's salary cannot cover the cost of the drug, thus it will be difficult for them to purchase this drug.
These drugs are a ridiculously high cost, and I feel that the drug companies should reduce the cost. Many people who don't have insurance and need these drugs aren't able to afford it. Therefore, the drug companies should try to decrease the cost to a reasonable price.
I agree with Yvonne. It seems that if companies set their prices so high, people with no insurance or little money cannot afford these drugs. And as a result they might suffer. To insure the safety of most Americans, drug companies should lower their prices, so more people can afford to purchase these medications.
I also agree on the point you made about drug companies putting a lot of time/money into research and development of these drugs. Their main reason for this is so that it can cure people. But if they cannot even afford to buy them, then there isn't going to be much of a difference of cure and no cure at all.
Complaining about how bad and immoral the companies are really isn't going to do anything. They are as free market capitalist as they can be, and couldn't care less for what is right and good for the people.
What I see in this is a perfect argument for a public health care option. With a good health care plan, anybody who wants to be part of it will be able to get drugs that are necessary to live for a reasonable cost. If you don't think it is "right" for these companies to charge so much, then you should support the plan that will make it possible for people to get it for less.
-Ilan Seid-Green
In my opinion, the drug puts a price on life. I say if you have a couple hundred thousand dollars laying around, then go for it. Does insurance cover any of the medication? If not, then it sounds like the medication is available to only a slim part of the population and even a smaller fraction of the number of patients who can afford this expensive drug. I find it great that options are available to peripheral T-cell lymphoma patients who want to live for as long as possible
This article reminded me about my intern over the summer at a bio-tech company. Most, if not all of the time is spent not making the drug, but making it available to the public for a reasonable price. I don't remeber the specific numbers, but my boss told me that everyday, it costs around a million dollars (more or less) for a bio-tech company to process. So a day off, is a million dollars gone down the gutter.I agree with sebastian that most people will rather spend money on the drug and live longer because life is too precious to be ignored like that. But I think the price tag is temporary because this is a novel drug for something so dangerous. As more cures/ drugs come out, the prices will go down, but as for now, we will just have to bear the price and hope that bio-tech companies are doing their best trying to decrease the price
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