New York Times editorializes on drug costs

Saturday's New York Times editorial on the cost of medication in America was timely given recent FDA approval of Jakafi for some MPNs. The drug will set you (and/or your insurance carrier) back $7,000 per month.

Weasel tactics like those of Martin Shkreli aside, the editorial notes that drug companies may charge more than research and development really warrant, and often raise the cost of drugs higher than the rate of inflation. Moreover, medications are a higher part of our nation's health care bill than pharmaceutical companies say. 

"Encouraging the development of innovative drugs and setting prices in ways that make lifesaving medicines affordable to all are not mutually exclusive ideas," the editorial concludes.

It strikes me that the Orphan Drug Act, which provides tax incentives to companies to develop treatments for rare diseases like ET, does a good deal of the encouraging. So where's the affordability?

Be well!

Read more on the blog: Jakafi, oral chemo, and drug costs

Home