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The 11 most expensive medications
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At an out-of-pocket cost around $6 a pill (about $2,000 a year), Plavix is a pricey drug. But that鈥檚 peanuts compared to the $409,500 price tag for a year鈥檚 worth of Soliris, a drug used to treat a rare blood disease known as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Forbes magazine has called Soliris the world鈥檚 most expensive drug.
In a recent post, the listed the 11 most expensive medicines in America:
- Soliris, $409,500 per year
- Elaprase, $375,000 per year
- Naglazyme, $365,000 per year
- Cinryze, $350,000 per year
- ACTH, $300,000 for two course of treatment
- Folotyn, $30,000 per month
- Myozyme, $100,000 per year for children, $300,000 for adults
- Arcalyst, $250,000 per year
- Ceredase/Cerezyme, $200,000 per year
- Fabrazyme, $200,000 per year
- Aldurazyme, $200,000
You probably haven鈥檛 heard of these drugs unless you, a family member, or friend has a rare disease like , , or . All of the drugs in the list are so-called , developed specifically to treat rare conditions.
The post raises questions about how much is too much when it comes to drug costs. If one of these drugs is keeping you or a family member alive, the sky鈥檚 the limit. If not, the cost can seem excessive.
In the best of all possible worlds, these and other expensive but necessary drugs and devices would be free to the folks who need them. That would, of course, shift the cost to society as a whole. It also doesn鈥檛 factor in the enormous expense of developing and making new drugs. Without a return on that investment, drug companies have no incentive to develop new life-saving medications.
Do you think there should be a cap on what a company can charge for a drug?
Read the full post about the 11 most expensive medications on the .
About the Author
Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor, 天博体育 Publishing
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, 天博体育 Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
