Quote:
Originally Posted by aftermathman
Duodopa is cleared as a treatment in the UK. It is very expensive though, $60k dollars a year for the drugs alone, then add in the aftercare, monitoring etc and add on $150k. So tough to justify however the PWP it has treated tend to be those about to go into a nursing home where Duodopa becomes cost effective versus the cost of the home. Apparently if being considered by a Neuro, Duodopa "makers" bring their own Accountant to meetings !!
Still looks very effective end stage treatment according to the Neuro.
Hope this helps,
Neil.
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Just reviewing the info out there on clinical trials and use of this treatment. I was surprised to find that this delivery system is given only
afterDBS has been eliminated as a possibility for the patient. OK, I get that a pump infusion system requires surgery and is invasive, but we're supposed to try brain surgery
first? Hmmm...guess I don't see how giving someone free reign with wires inside my head is less invasive than installing a pump through my small intestine.
Also, why the exorbitant cost? I think both research and clinicians agree that smaller, steady doses of levodopa is actually better for us as it mimics natural processes vs. the nasty on-off effects and dyskinesia. Why wouldn't this therapy be offered as an
alternative to DBS? I don't understand why you would need be ready to enter into a nursing home to be eligible. It seems to me that Solvay is missing an opportunity to market this differently, or are there simply too many complications wherein people cannot tolerate the treatment?
Laura