Peter Okoye, PBA Journalism Mentee2022 experienced hike in prices of prescription drugs. Globally, prescription drugs are becoming more and more unaffordable and patients are increasingly unable to afford the drugs they need to keep healthy and alive. 10 Most Expensive Drugs!
Isn’t it surprising that cost of some medications has risen past the $1 million mark – just for a single dose.
Recall that Prime Business Africa early this week reported a single dose of drug for blood disease which goes for as much as $3.5 million.
These drugs need to be made affordable for patients who need them. Everyone deserves the best health treatment they can get.
With the help of GoodRx, we have been able to compile a list of 10 most expensive drugs, just so you can see for yourself how expensive it has become to stay alive and probably take very good care of your health before it goes bad:
With the help of GoodRx, we have been able to compile a list of the 10 most expensive drugs.
Hemgenix – $3.5 million
Hemgenix according to the US Food and Drug Agency, was developed to treat haemophilia- an inherited bleeding condition whereby the blood doesn’t clot properly. This is caused by the lack of a protein called clotting function which helps to stop bleeding. Hemgenix is a gene therapy drug, which uses a viral vector to deliver a gene coding for factor IX protein. This gene is delivered to the recipient’s liver cells enabling the patient to begin to synthesise the factor IX protein, thereby reversing the haemophilia B condition to a degree. Clinical records show that a single dose of hemgenix provides protection against haemophilia B for more than eight years but it comes with a heavy price tag of $3.5 million.
Zolgensma – $2,125,000
Zolgensma is a life-saving gene therapy approved in May 2019 to treat pediatric Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). A rare genetic motor neuron disease that results in problems with breathing, holding up your head, and swallowing. SMA is caused when a gene, usually SMA1 is missing or doesn’t work properly it then provides a new functional or working copy of a human SMN gene. The majority of children affected with SMA do not survive past early childhood due to an inability to breathe.
Zolgensma is a drug administered to children less than two years with spinal muscular atrophy. It is given as a one-time infusion into a vein. It replaces the defective or missing survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene and is considered potentially curative. it comes at a cost of $2,125,000
Zokivny (lonafarnib) – $1,073,760
(10 Most Expensive Drugs)
Zokivny is a prescription drug used for the treatment of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS or Progeria) and processing-deficient Progeroid Laminopathies (PL). A very rare genetic premature ageing disease that causes heart failure and results in the death of young patients if not treated. It comes at a cost of $1,073,760
Danyelza – $1,011,882
Danyelza is a treatment for pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory high-risk neuroblastoma in the bone or bone marrow. ( a rare form of cancer) in adults and children at least one-year-old. This medicine is given as an infusion into a vein by a healthcare provider. It is usually administered after all other cancer treatments fail to work properly or stop working. Danyelza is called granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF) which causes your body to produce certain blood cells that help fight cancer and protect you from infections. The drug developed by New York-based Y-mAbs Therapeutics was approved in November and had an annual cost of $1,011,882.
Myalept – $929,951
Myalept is used with a doctor’s recomended diet to treat complications caused by leptin deficiency in patients with generalized lipodystrophy, which causes abnormal fat distribution in the body. Lipodystrophy is a problem with the way the body stores fat. Myalept costs $77,496 for a monthly supply and $929,951 for a year’s supply.
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Luxturna – $850,000
Luxturna is a gene therapy used for the treatment of an inherited form of retinal dystrophy, a disease that can cause night blindness, light sensitivity, and even complete blindness. This drug can only be used for people with a specific gene mutation and a medical test is always required to make sure the person has this gene mutation. You only need one dose of Luxturna ever, and the annual price rings up at $850,000.
Folotyn – $842,585
Folotyn is an approved drug to treat peripheral T-cell lymphoma cancer. A rare blood cancer that can cause death. It is given as a last-chance cancer medication to patients who have tried every other kind of medication that has failed to work. The folotyn drug is given as an infusion into the vein and patients are given 135 vials of the drug annually bringing it to an annual cost of $842,585
Blincynto – $754,720
(10 Most Expensive Drugs)
Blincynto is a drug used to treat a rare form of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in patients above one year of age. It is used when a patient’s cancer has come back ( relapsed) or has not improved with previous treatment( refractory). it is usually administered in phases. The first phase is known as the induction phase. It is aimed at reducing the number of cancer cells and the other phases are known as the consolidation phases. They help grow new healthy cells. This treatment comes at a cost of $754,720.
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Ravicti – 695,970
Ravicti is used to prevent a build-up of ammonia in the blood in adults and children with urea cycle disorder. A genetic condition that results in high levels of ammonia in the blood and causes permanent brain, coma, or death when it circulates in the blood.
Ravicti is given in a pharmacy and doesn’t require administration from a healthcare provider. Patients are typically given 132 bottles annually, with the price of one bottle at $5,273, the annual price falls to $695,970.
Brineura – $755,898
Brineura is a medication that treats a specific form of Batten disease called late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2), a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects the nervous system of children and results in language delay, seizures, difficulty coordinating movements and ultimately the use of a wheelchair by late childhood.
The brineura drug is an enzyme replacement therapy for tripeptidyl peptidase-1 (TPP1). It is the first FDA-approved treatment to slow the decline of walking disability in symptomatic children 3 years of age and older with CLN2.
Brineura costs $29,073 for a kit of 2 vials of 150 mg with the recommended dosage at 300 mg every 2 weeks making it an annual cost of $755,898.
10 Most Expensive Drugs!
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