A medicine against blindness, sold $ 850 000 in the United States

Wednesday, 3 January 2018 11:17

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Wednesday, 3 January 2018 11:20

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NEW YORK | The Luxturna, a drug against the degeneration hereditary retinal that can lead to total blindness, will be sold for $ 850 000 in the United States, which makes it one of the treatments the most expensive in the world.

It is administered in a single dose, said its manufacturer, the company biotech Spark Therapeutics based in Philadelphia (is).

In detail, it will cost 425 000 dollars per eye, but the final price remains below a million envisaged initially when he had received permission from the u.s. Agency of the drug (FDA) in mid-December.

This announcement comes in the midst of a debate on the high cost of drugs in the United States, including the prices of treatments and innovative, and should not fail to raise objections.

Ahead of the reviews, Spark has promised to reimburse patients if the treatment was not effective, and are also considering asking the health authorities to authorize a payment-by-step.

The biotechnology company, has taken inspiration from the approach recently adopted by the swiss laboratory Novartis at the beginning of the commercialization of Kymriah, which is supposed to treat a very aggressive leukemia in children and young adults. The swiss laboratory is committed to making money for insurers and patients in the event of ineffectiveness of this treatment, sold for 475 000$.

Luxturna is considered to be the first us drug from gene therapy, which is to correct a genetic defect by repairing the defective gene. Approximately 1000 cases of people suffering from the degeneration hereditary retinal are recorded currently in the United States and 10 to 20 new cases are expected annually in the next years.

In addition to Luxturna, other medication is around the million dollars currently even though they often require several doses.

This is the case of Spinraza (Nusinersen in Europe), developed by Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals against muscle atrophy, and Soliris, produced by Alexion Pharmaceuticals to treat a rare disease of the kidney. They are both around $ 750 000.

The palm of the medicine is the most expensive in the world is, however, to Glybera, the first drug-gene sold for $ 1 million by the Dutch company UniQure to treat several genetic diseases.