A new drug for an infant's muscular disease is going to hit the market with a record breaking $2 million price tag. The drug is a gene therapy which is reported to cure spinal muscular atrophy which is an inherited disease. Gene therapy works on faulty genes by introducing a working version of the gene. There is only one other gene therapy drug on the market and it is priced at $850,000. Insurance companies are fighting Against such a high price for the therapy. The drug is set to release soon though, as it is the only know cure and most children do not live to their second birthday with the disease. Parents are worried if they will have to choose between this treatment and an equally expensive drug which seeks to delay symptoms. The company is petitioning to have the government approve a yearly payment plan to try and smooth the costs.
This highlights the influence in both supply and demand in a market and the necessity of finding the proper price for a product. With a price this high it may cause patients to have to chose between their existing treatment and this treatment. However, this is the only know cure for this disease and one of only 2 approved gene therapy drug. The other also having a high price tag.
This article is very interesting. I wonder if this drug would not only work for infants, but for adults as well who have muscular diseases
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