Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalie8
WOW. The price of Tysabri has increased by 19%. That's unbelievable. I have a few suppositions. It went up because 1) fewer people are signing up given the PML risk and once that antibody assay comes on the market the roughly 50% of people who test positive won't be candidates for the drug 2) Gilenia (fingolimod) will be arriving in Sept. most likely and as a pill with no PML risk it may prove to be more appealing than Tysabri.
I would like to say I am shocked, but I guess I'm not. I find this just totally disgusting. Money, money, money. You can't tell me the cost to produce this drug went up that much?
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More information:
Biogen passed an 18% price increase for Tysabri in the US, effective June 30, 2010. Biogen said it's based on the improved efficacy of Tysabri relative to ABCRs, which have also had recent price increases. Biogen notes that if the JCV assay is successful there could be another one-time price increase in the future. Reimbursement is not expected to be an issue.
The new cost for Tysabri 300 MG/15mL is $3,076.03. The most recent previous price increases were Dec 17, 2009 (for 8%), Jun 30, 2009 (for 1%), Dec 23, 2008 (for 3%), and Jun 30, 2008 (for 3%). I believe the cost is for wholesale price.
Tysabri goes through a central distributor, who sells to the supplier (who adds their cut) who then sells it to your infusion center (who adds their cut) who then sells it to you/your insurance company.
I just got a copy of my last bill and the infusion center charges over 3X the wholesale cost, of which my insurance company pays a negotiated fee of more than 2X the wholesale cost. That's for the drug alone, not the infusion costs.
Guess what? I don't care. It works and my insurance pays for it. My premium did go up 15% July 1st, but so did the crappy plans we have available through my employer, so I don't feel singled out in this plan. Watch what happens after the study that they are doing head to head with the ABCRs. Betcha it goes up again.