NYT: Avastin @ $100k/year
The New York Times (free registration required) reports ...Doctors are excited about the prospect of Avastin, a drug already widely used for colon cancer, as a crucial new treatment for breast and lung cancer, too. But doctors are cringing at the price the maker, Genentech, plans to charge for it: about $100,000 a year. ...How can they get away with charging that much?
Until now, drug makers have typically defended high prices by noting the cost of developing new medicines. But executives at Genentech and its majority owner, Roche, are now using a separate argument — citing the inherent value of life-sustaining therapies.Where does the increasing cost of healthcare end? Frankly, Roche's argument disgusts me. Admittedly, it's a classic free-market argument: we'll charge that much because we can. But somehow, it doesn't ... seem ... right.
posted by Paul Wilczynski @ 10:51 AM
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