Old drug gets an absurd price hike to $89,000 Dollars per year [deflazacort]

Okay, so we know that Big Pharma is all about making money off drugs. Period. But this? Check it.



Old drug gets an absurd price hike to $89,000 per year
www.engadget.com...

Marathon Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval for an old drug used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, deflazacort, and in the process has raised the price to ridiculously high levels.

You could previously import the generic medicine for about $1,200 per year, but it now costs a staggering $89,000 per year -- "just" $54,000 with discounts and rebates.

And since deflazacort (now rebranded as Emflaza) is classified as an orphan drug used to treat a rare disease, Marathon will both have a 7-year exclusive on US sales and a voucher to fast-track a future approval.

This is truly gouging and unfair to those who are suffering and it shows that big drug companies just don't give a s# about people...just the money. Sad, but true.

That's bad.
Obviously.

Unfortunately, the people who run these companies have a fiduciary duty to maximize profits for their investors. Until we change the nature of capitalism, this is reality. Be aware, I am in no way advocating we abandon capitalism. Change can be subtle or incremental. I am not smart enough to have a solution. A lot of emotional responses and gut-reactions will claim to know how to fix the world, but most of the time these alternative paths have as many or more problems than those we currently face. I think we can all agree, though, that big pharma has a choke hold on policy makers. Ironically, competition is king for issues like this. Maybe we should just blame insurance companies? I know there is an argument there.

Unfortunately, this is a prime example where government should step in.

They have laws against gouging prices during a natural crisis -like arbitrarily raising the price of gas during a disaster-well, how about this?

Or are the lobbyists gaining again?

a reply to: ExNihiloRed

And you wonder why Obama Care insurance premiums are set to skyrocket? Trump will need to land a smack down on these companies, and fast!

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Yep. Then they go away. And then what?

a reply to: Justso

I would think the chances of government having their hands dipped in kitty to be fairly high.

Greed apparently has no end

a reply to: ExNihiloRed

Just thought that this would be an interesting read for everyone, including yourself. That said, unless something is done about this situation the implications on the populace requiring prescription aid to health care are going to have a ripple effect on many people.

Why Prescription Drugs Aren’t Part of Obamacare
morningconsult.com...

But now drug prices are on the health care industry’s radar, although a solution to the high cost is elusive.

Drugmakers say the fault lies with insurers that shift costs to consumers more for drugs than they do for hospital and medical care. Insurers say that’s because drugs are expensive and everyone feels the brunt of it. The truth is that both are right. The Affordable Care Act helped create this tension.

The law took big steps to extend drug coverage. Prescription drugs are one of 10 essential benefits that insurers are required to cover. It also closed the “donut hole,” or the coverage gap in Medicare Part D plans. It did so partly on the shoulders of drug companies, which are required to offer seniors a discount on their drugs. There is also a tax on drug manufacturers and importers.

But other than that, drug companies are largely unregulated. They can set their own prices. There are no restrictions on profit margins. And there is very little transparency into the pricing process.

By contrast, Obamacare is full of new rules governing insurance and is a radical departure from the way the market used to operate. It requires insurers to cover a wider array of benefits while it prohibits them from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions. It institutes new rules regarding how insurers set premiums. It limits insurers’ revenues and creates new standards of premium rate reviews. It also creates significant rules about plans’ benefit design, limiting cost-sharing, and setting up a system of tiers based on the share of costs covered by a particular plan.

These changes upended the health insurance market, and insurers’ have been forced to adapt. The catch is that insurers reflect the costs of health care in general, even more so now that there are caps on how much of a plan’s revenue can be used for marketing, administration and profits.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Yep. Then they go away. And then what?

Let the generics and free market competition come in. This will in a sense allow more affordable prescription prices of drugs...not saying that one quality will be better than any other out there.

This is another example of why I refuse to worship Capitalism as the epitome of existence like so many do.

There has to be another way, because this is monstrous. We put people away for smoking marijuana, but we let people get away with killing and bankrupting millions through legal means every day. In fact we even go so far as to make laws that require these people to bankrupt and kill millions in order to maximize profits. This is such an absurd system.

originally posted by: Skywatcher2011

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

Yep. Then they go away. And then what?

Let the generics and free market competition come in.

Does that apply to health care in general?
I ask this because of medical insurance, I paid a hell of a lot less than it actually cost to save my life. There were a lot of people, technology, and medication involved.

a reply to: Phage

Drug companies are venture capitalists. They can charge whatever they want more or less. The fact you got a great benefit in some way you should be thankful. Not many people get that opportunity.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

I agree about pharmaceutical corporations but you said this:

And you wonder why Obama Care insurance premiums are set to skyrocket? Trump will need to land a smack down on these companies, and fast!

How do you think Trump can "smack down" on these companies? The only thing he's mentioned is negotiating medicare payments.

this is what happens when a government guarantees payment for medicine. this is exactly what i told someone the other day. what is there to stop a company from raising prices on anything and everything if the government guarantees them payment? this is the symptoms of socialism.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

I agree about pharmaceutical corporations but you said this:

And you wonder why Obama Care insurance premiums are set to skyrocket? Trump will need to land a smack down on these companies, and fast!

How do you think Trump can "smack down" on these companies? The only thing he's mentioned is negotiating medicare payments.

B y smackdown I meant he will be introducing a bidding process of some sort. I have no clue how the system or procedures work in the pharma industry but something will change. How??? I have no clue tbh.

However, this was an interesting discussion about how Trump may go about this issue on drug pricing:

a reply to: ExNihiloRed

wait what? this is not capitalism. this is a direct result of socialism. the drug company is guaranteed payment by the government. i dont know if youve noticed but we have "free" healthcare now. free is code for ruining the life of everyone in the middle class to pay for it.

how is any company gonna sell an 89000 dollar drug in a free market? no one would be able to afford it.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

I have no clue how the system or procedures work

From what I've seen so far, neither does he.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

well he already explained how. basically eliminate the FDA. if i develop a drug that saves lives i cant just put it out on the market even if i prove it works. and the FDA can simply do the bidding of the biggest drug companies to keep me out of the market.

deregulation is that absolute best fix for this problem.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Skywatcher2011

I have no clue how the system or procedures work

From what I've seen so far, neither does he.

That is why he will hire the best people who know the system so that they can inform him to make the best decision for the people and not the companies.

a reply to: AVoiceOfReason