Patent Law

A right to Terceva?

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

The New York Times recently reported on the high prices paid for drugs to treat cancer, notably the newer "targeted therapies." Some examples included:

$54,000 per year for Avastatin, made by Genentech,
$31,000 per year for Terceva, made by Genentech, and
$25,000 for Thalidomid, made by Celgene.

The article shows how the prices of these drugs drastically ratcheted upwards in the 1990's, starting with Taxol, made by Bristol-Myers-Squibb, at $4,000 per year, starting in 1992, through Herceptin, made by Genentech, at $20,000 per year, in 1998, to Erbitux, at $100,000 per year, made by Bristol and ImClone Systems.

The article stated that these prices are unrelated to manufacturing costs, and simply based on what the market will bear.

In March 2009, one had the post Terceva rash/pustules around the eyes ? AARRGGHH!!. See also
Genentech Receives Blow from FDA Warning on its Cancer Drug

Now, we have on YouTube The Death Panels Are Real about a woman who could not get the State of Oregon to cover her use of Terceva.

LBE was once told that some huge fraction of health care costs go to cover people in their last two weeks of life.

Full post as published by IPBiz on August 27, 2009 (boomark / email).