Quote:
Originally Posted by komokazi
Harry,
I'd highly encourage you to look at the abstracts being presented at the AAN 2009 Meeting next week. There will be a lot of data presented on patients pre and post Tysabri (Relapse rate, EDSS, QOL measures) that may alter your efficacy perception relative to the CRABs. You might also want to recheck your info on CRAB costs as their prices hacve crept up to within 10 to 15 of Tysabri's costs.
Chris
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Chris,
I am used to seeing the abstracts for MS medications over the years...for the past 40+ years in fact. And yes, those being presented for Tysabri at the AAN 2009 meeting will look very nice...they always do.
My comment about Tysabri's relativity to the CRABs has to do with the generalities of patients improving, staying the same or becoming worse. Not in the actual comparison numbers because the CRAB numbers are really quite lousy and it doesn't take much to better them significantly. Tysabri's breakdown in these three groupings will be the same because of the huge different effect medications have always had on MS patients.
And to comment on the price increase of the CRABs....pretty disgusting!! Here are drugs that got orphan drug status (with the exception of Rebif if I can remember correctly) from the FDA and have been around for about 15 years....yet their price continues to go up only because of the huge cost of Tysabri. But their advantage, if you can call it that, is they don't have the ludicrous infusion costs that go along with Tysabri.
I'm afraid, Chris, the MS patients of the world are being taken advantage of by these companies whose sole motivation is adding to the bottom line. Now there is nothing wrong with trying to improve your profits to the highest level but when you follow how these companies have done that with these drugs, it makes me shake my head!!
Take care.
Harry