If you move to some third world hellhole, you can probably get the same drug dirt cheap, or even free. The pharmaceutical industry makes the American Public pay for the R&D of new drugs, so they can promote themselves in "feel good" ads showing how they give them away in "under developed" countries.
The ‘price gouging’ army will be here shortly to perform a collective faint.
In my mind I’m picturing an editorial cartoon where we see an employee’s cafeteria at a major pharma company.
A man is in line considering his options.
The prices are outrageously high but there is a sign advertising programs to help poor people get their lunch at a subsidized price or even free.
Approve it and tell Novartis - Fed.gov isn’t paying a penny.
I expect Novartis will still sell it, only without the obscene, crony-capitalist, deep-state profit margin
I heard 87% success rate.
Your blood is drawn, The T Cells are extracted, then modified to attach to the cancer antigens, multiplied up, and then reinfused to the host body.
They then go on the attack and wipe out the cancer...completely.
It's cutting edge science right now
The drug, Kymriah, is the first CAR-T therapy to come before the FDA and was approved for the treatment of patients up to 25 years old with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
...
I think that means it’s approved only after another therapy has failed.
Yep, I found more info:
ALL is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood, in which the body makes abnormal lymphocytes. The disease progresses quickly and is the most common childhood cancer in the U.S. The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 3,100 patients aged 20 and younger are diagnosed with ALL each year. ALL can be of either T- or B-cell origin, with B-cell the most common. Kymriah is approved for use in pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell ALL and is intended for patients whose cancer has not responded to or has returned after initial treatment, which occurs in an estimated 15-20 percent of patients.
What’s the point of nobody can afford it and insurance won’t cover it.
Martin Shkreli was convicted of something bigger companies do all the time. The US is rigged against small business so big business can get bigger.
Oh please.
A friend of mine’s boy needs this.
The insurance company won’t cover it. He has other treatment options, but he has the “bad” kind that doesn’t react to chemo.
He has a 30% chance of recovery.
Heard about this on the radio yesterday while driving home from my FFL. Wasn’t paying close attention but it was reported the company will refund the $475K if the treatment doesn’t work.
Does Obamacare cover that?
“...and was approved for the treatment of patients up to 25 years old with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”
Everyone take a deep breath. This treatment is primarily for children who will likely die young without it. As such, spread the cost over years of life for those successfully treated and it doesn’t sound so bad. Now if they proposed giving this to 75 year olds and have Medicare pay for it that would be another story.
I have CLL, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.
After my last round of Intravenous Chemotherapy a few years ago, I was told that there were two or three new Oral Medications just approved that would mean the end to Intravenous Chemotherapy for me once it raises its ugly head again. I was told for the first time in 10 Years that I was in Remission for my CLL. So far so good, BUT...
That was great news, until I found out I now have a second form of Leukemia, MDS. It stands for Myelodysplastic Syndrome. Should it become aggressive, the Treatment Regimen is much more severe. I would probably have to have a Bone Marrow Transplant at some point to survive it. That is pretty much the only proven effective Treatment for it.
I have no expectation of anyone paying $750,000 for a single Treatment to keep me alive, much less a Regimen of multiple costs reaching into the multi millions of dollars. At least Drug Dealers give you the first one free. LOL