March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The prices of multiple sclerosis medicines have risen as much as 39 percent since last year, even as competition intensified with the introduction of the first pill to treat the disease.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. said it raised the price of its MS drug, Copaxone, to about $42,300 a year, a 39 percent jump since January 2010. In September, Novartis AG won approval for Gilenya, pricing it even higher at $48,000, in part because it’s the first drug in pill form, while the other treatments must be injected or infused. As analysts say Gilenya will take a significant share of the market, charging more for the older therapies is a way to keep revenue steady when unit sales erode.
The cost of the MS drugs, which patients generally take for life, now rivals that of cancer medicines such as Roche Holding AG’s $50,000-a-year Avastin. The MS treatments may be out of reach for patients who don’t have insurance or don’t qualify for help from the companies, at a time when governments worldwide are seeking to rein in health-care spending.
“It’s just a crazy situation,” said Brenda Lakatos- Shaffer, a 45-year-old MS patient in Dallas who counsels Medicare beneficiaries for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, in an interview. “Not only is having MS absolutely horrible, and you have the crazy side effects and quality of life with these medicines, but then you see the prices go up.”
Teva and Biogen Idec Inc., which makes the Tysabri and Avonex drugs, responded with their own price increases as the companies sought to generate more revenue before Gilenya wins significant market share.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Novartis’s $48,000 Pill Spurs U.S. Price Increases for MS Drugs - Businessweek
via businessweek.com
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