The most expensive drugs

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Some pharmaceutical companies have revenues in the billions. And sometimes, to get such a profit, firms only need to include several drugs in their assortment.

The list of expensive drugs is extensive. As a rule, pills for rare and mostly incurable diseases cost more than one thousand dollars or euros. Experts often argue that these drugs are seriously overpriced for a variety of reasons, including the lack of competition.

The prices of biotech drugs for rare diseases continue to rise, flying into the stratosphere. There is no single price for the most expensive drugs in the world, and no one makes a list of them.

The most expensive medicine in the world - 850 thousand dollars per dose!

Remember this name: Luxturna. From now on, it is the most expensive medical product ever to surf the pharmacy.

No, this is not a cure for greed. In fact, as Skolkovo would say, it is an "innovative drug." So innovative that Spark Therapeutics, which developed Luxturna, was originally going to sell it for $ 1 million per dose.

Luxturna is designed to cure the patient from an extremely nasty disease - hereditary blindness. The drug cures blindness with the method of gene therapy (an ultramodern and really effective direction in modern medicine, based on changes in the genetic apparatus of the patient's somatic cells).

After the insurance companies said that a million was too much, an unaffordable burden for the budget, the price was reduced by 15 percent. But even that leaves Luxturna in the rank of the most expensive drug.

Testing has proven that Luxturna does indeed restore vision for those with a rare form of inherited blindness. It is estimated that about two thousand people are forced to live in the United States with this diagnosis.

How does this thing work? Fortunately, there is no self-hypnosis - they say, since I paid 850 mowers, I simply have to recover. After one injection of the drug, it acts like a virus on the retina and replaces the defective gene, after which the process of restoring vision begins. Two injections will be required (one per eye), treatment of each eye will cost 425 thousand, which will add up to the same 850 thousand.

At the same time, as noted by experts who criticize greedy pharmacists, the price is exorbitant, even by the standards of newfangled gene therapy. For example, the most expensive gene drug for blood cancer costs 474 thousand dollars. Not a gift, but still much more modest than Luxturna.

The worst thing that experts say is the real threat that when insurance companies start paying for such fabulously expensive treatment, pharmaceutical corporations will become completely insolent and start driving prices even higher!

Well, now, let's go through other drugs that are very expensive

Soliris is a drug for patients who suffer from disorders of the immune system, in which a person's blood cells begin to die during sleep during sleep (for what reasons it is not known exactly), which leads to the destruction of the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain. Without appropriate treatment, the life expectancy of such a patient is no more than 10 years. The medicine allows you to suspend this process. Considering that there are only 20,000 such patients worldwide, it becomes clear why the drug is so expensive - a year of treatment costs them $ 536,000, and prices for a pack of pills start at 5,928 euros.

Naglazyme, which is used to correct metabolic disorders. This disease quickly puts a person in a wheelchair. At the same time, the treatment allows you to see good results and positive dynamics almost immediately - after the start of the course, patients begin to walk, they note motor progress. In the world today, there are only 1100 cases of such a problem. Treatment with such a miracle remedy will cost $ 485 thousand per year (i.e. approximately 3,800 euros per pack).

2,000 people in the world know what Hunter syndrome is, not by hearsay, because they themselves get sick. This disease is characterized by stunted growth, emerging breathing problems, thickening of the tongue, nostrils and lips. It is believed to be more common at an early age - i.e. in children. Elaprase allows you to slow down the development of the disease, returning the deteriorated performance of a person to a normal state. In this case, it should be taken 1 tablet per week. The cost of packaging is from 3750 euros.

Cinryze is a drug for the prevention of edema in patients with hereditary angioedema. This disease occurs due to a deficiency in the blood of certain enzymes and metabolic disorders. Since this phenomenon is unpredictable, edema can appear at any time. As a result, patients have to spend $ 350 thousand for a year's treatment, or from 1948 euros - for each pack.

Myozyme, intended for patients with Pompe disease. This syndrome is caused by a deficiency of alpha-glucosidase, which leads to muscle breakdown, enlargement of the heart and breathing problems. Basically, the disease is more often diagnosed in childhood. Myozyme stops these processes and helps children breathe on their own.

The cost of the annual treatment costs the parents $ 100,000. If such a disease occurs in adults, then the course will cost more for them - $ 300,000 a year, the price of a package starts at 1,000 euros.

Aldurazyme. Annual cost: $ 200,000 Manufacturer: Genzyme, BioMarin. This drug treats Hurler's Syndrome (MPS I), which causes patients to stop morally and physically at the age of 4 years. Six hundred people in the world suffer from it.

Cerezim. Annual cost: $ 200,000 Manufacturer: Genzyme. In Gaucher disease, fatty deposits accumulate in the spleen, liver, lungs, bone marrow, and sometimes in the brain, resulting in skeletal disorders, and extinction of the functions of the lungs and kidneys. The drug replaces an enzyme that patients with Gaucher disease lack. Worldwide, there are 5,200 patients with this disease.

Fabrazyme. Annual cost: $ 200,000 Manufacturer: Genzyme. Fabry disease causes burning sensations, purple spots, an enlarged heart, and kidney problems. The number of patients with this disease exceeds 2200 people worldwide. The seventh line among the most expensive drugs in the world 2015-2016.

Arcalyst. Annual cost: $ 250,000 Manufacturer: Regeneron. This drug treats Macle-Wales syndrome, which affects 2,000 people worldwide. This syndrome causes recurring fevers, rashes, joint pain, and kidney pain.

Experts often justify such a high cost of essential drugs by the fact that they are designed to overcome really rare and serious pathologies. Yes, for the chance of partial, and in some cases, complete recovery, people do not mind giving any money. And the situation can change only if competitors come into the business - then the price of medicines may decrease, experts say.