In the US, the price of Revlimid, cancer drugs, has increased over two decades. It is now sold for almost $ 1,000 per pill. In Europe, the price is invariably lower in some countries by two-thirds.
I started Report on Revlimid After prescribing the drug after the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, incurable blood cancer. Stunned by the high price, I found that the Celgene drug manufacturer used Revlimid as his own personal piggy bank for more than ten years, raising the price in the US when she considered fit.
Even with smaller prices in Europe, Selgen still brought a profit there, said the former executive director. It added up to more than $ 21 billion in net profit that the company was made after the introduction of Revlimid in 2005.
Of course, Revlimid is not the only pricing drug. Americans pay more for prescription medicines than people in wealthy countries. And the costs continue to go up, sit patients with crippled debt or forcing them to choose between filling recipes or buying products. So why do we pay much more? And what is it done with this?
In most other wealthy countries, governments set a single price for drugs, which is usually based on the therapeutic benefit of the drug and what other countries pay. In the United States, drug addicts determine that it pays for its products with small restrictions. Insurance companies can refuse drug coverage to try to agree on a lower price, but in some diseases such as cancer, this causes a risk reaction. Cancer is “a very politically charged illness,” said Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, Professor Harvard Medical School, who studies drug prices and regulation. Some states also provide insurers who illuminate some cancer.
Pharmaceutical companies invariably claim that prices for American drugs reflect the cost of research and development. Americans can pay more, but they are also beneficial from accessing advanced procedures. (Since then, Celgene has acquired Bristol Maers Skibb, which states that its cost Revlimid, which increased in the US last year by 7%, “reflects the continued clinical benefit Revlimid and other economic factors.”
Dr. Hagop Cantarian, Leukemia Specialist at the Anderson Cancer Medical Center, who studies drug prices, said pharmaceutical companies often overestimate drug development and that many drug discoveries occur in hospital and academic laboratories funded by public grants. According to Bentley University’s study, the US National Institute of Health has contributed to all but two of the 356 drugs approved by the Food and Medicines Office from 2010 to 2019. Companies also do not spend all profits on innovation: 14 largest drug addictions in the world have spent more on shares and payments to investors than study and development, according to the 2021 analysis committee for the supervision of the US House.
One possible solution for reducing costs: tie American prices to which drug manufacturers charge in other wealthy countries. Budget bureau of congress find Last year, it would have the greatest impact on the cost reduction of the seven offers she studied. This is an idea with two -party support.
Meaning. Josh Holy, R-Mo., And Peter Welch, D-VT., introduced the bill this week This will punish pharmaceutical companies that sell their drugs at higher prices than average prices in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and the UK. Companies that sell above average will face civilian punishments equal to 10 times the difference between the US and the average price list in these other countries.
President Donald Trump stands for such actions. During his first term he removed The executive order that directs the Medicare program to use the “most committed nation” when paying for drugs. Later, the administration developed a rule that sent Medicare to choose the lowest price from the basket of similar countries and make that the maximum amount that the agency would pay for 50 drugs injected. Courthouse clogs The rule of implementation in the last days of the first administration.
Now, according to reports This week, the administration encourages plans to link Medicaid and Medicare prices to lower prices charged in other countries.
US prices binding those who are in other countries oppose industry groups that say it will leave medication for the government rather than the doctor and patients.
“Government government price is in any form bad for American patients,” said Alex Sriver, a press secretary of pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of America, an industry group. He said it was necessary to concentrate on “deficiencies in the US system”, including money coming to intermediaries such as pharmacy managers.
Some critics also warn the so -called international certificates place and allows foreign governments essentially set the cost of medicines sold in the US
Trump’s administration is expected to announce drug pricing plans for the next week, reports A report. The White House did not respond to a comment request.
