Imatinib, a cancer drug sold under the name Gleevec by Novartis, is a life-saving and life-prolonging medication. The question for many patients, however, is: how much are they willing to pay to prolong their lives, and how much profit a company can make from one medication before it becomes immoral.
Gleevec is a notable example of this phenomenon for one scary reason: patients who take it stay on the medication for years on end. Bloomberg Businessweek spoke to one patient who has been taking the pill since it was introduced in 2001. He pays $7,676 for a one-month supply, but the drug only cost one-third as much thirteen years ago. Why?
Because Novartis can. When drug companies merge or acquire each other, it’s helpful to their bottom line. When they sell more drugs in a given category, that puts drug companies in a better negotiating position with health insurers. Insurance companies “only” pay about $100 per pill for Gleevec.
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Which in turn pushes up the demand for alternative treatments.
ReplyDeleteDrug Companies have their people in place in upper grade Government jobs.. if you look at Federal Judge's portfolios on Judicial Watch they are primarily invested in Oil Banks and Big Pharma.. guess who gets the most earmarked beneficial policy considerations after the Federal Government itself?
ReplyDeleteIt's called Capitalism! What are you, a bunch of Socialists?!
ReplyDeleteSo, poor people die & rich people get to live.
ReplyDelete