T
Timothy_Crown
Guest
To everyone:
Would like anyones thoughts on a recent article read in the August 8th, 2011 Forbes
Magazine. The article was titled-“A Drug of Your Own”-by Matthew Herper. It was
very interesting. The thrust of the article was the development of a drug they have
found which actually improves the lung function by 10% of patients who have cystic
fibrosis. This may not sound like much-but keep in mind (VX-770) is unlike other drugs
which mainly seem to slow decline from this “fatal disease”, this actually boosted their
lung function and preserved it for a whole year. The New England Journal of Medicine
called it as a “milestone.”
Here is where it gets really interesting. This drug only works in 4% of all the adults
and children who have cystic fibrosis. So works in about 1,200 of the 30,000
person who have this terrible disease. But the clincher is the drug will be-hold on to
your chair $200,000-$250,000 cost per patient per year!!!
The question is there a moral line on how much money we should attempt to spend
to improve the quality of someones health. If not a moral line-there will be monetary
line. As the article indicates-the National Institutes of Health has said that 30 million
Americans have rare diseases. If we had to spend $200,000 on drugs to treat each
one-we would have to spend seven times more than is currently spent in the U.S.
on drugs in one year.
Any insights?
Timothy from Reno
Would like anyones thoughts on a recent article read in the August 8th, 2011 Forbes
Magazine. The article was titled-“A Drug of Your Own”-by Matthew Herper. It was
very interesting. The thrust of the article was the development of a drug they have
found which actually improves the lung function by 10% of patients who have cystic
fibrosis. This may not sound like much-but keep in mind (VX-770) is unlike other drugs
which mainly seem to slow decline from this “fatal disease”, this actually boosted their
lung function and preserved it for a whole year. The New England Journal of Medicine
called it as a “milestone.”
Here is where it gets really interesting. This drug only works in 4% of all the adults
and children who have cystic fibrosis. So works in about 1,200 of the 30,000
person who have this terrible disease. But the clincher is the drug will be-hold on to
your chair $200,000-$250,000 cost per patient per year!!!
The question is there a moral line on how much money we should attempt to spend
to improve the quality of someones health. If not a moral line-there will be monetary
line. As the article indicates-the National Institutes of Health has said that 30 million
Americans have rare diseases. If we had to spend $200,000 on drugs to treat each
one-we would have to spend seven times more than is currently spent in the U.S.
on drugs in one year.
Any insights?
Timothy from Reno