Pharmaceutical companies develop new treatments for patients who need them. The price of new medicines is going higher and higher. Not too long ago people had sticker shock at the price of a treatment for Hepatitis C. Now gene therapy treatments, that are able to provide lifetime cures, are being priced in the million Dollar range. When is the price justifiable?
If your child’s disease could be slowed down with an effective one-time treatment of a gene therapy, how much would you be prepared to pay for it? What happens if you live in a country where your national health system is unable to afford to pay for the treatment. What if your health insurance would refuse to pay for the treatment until your child’s condition had deteriorated sufficiently? There are finite resources, and coverage for one type of treatment is likely to be at the expense of another.
These are very hard questions that have to be faced, not only by families, but by society, and governments.
Are pharma companies developing revolutionary new treatments such as gene therapies, that will ultimately only be accessible by the super rich nations, and patients?
What are your thoughts? We want to hear from you.
Lorna Speid, Ph.D.
Founder and Chair, Board of Directors
Putting Rare Diseases Patients First!(R)
