Have you ever thought about which is the most expensive drug in the world? The Food and Drug Administration on May 24, approved the most expensive drug in the world which costs roughly Rs 14 crore. It is a one-time gene therapy for treatment of a rare disease that adversely affects infants.
Novartis, the drug manufacturer announced the approval and disclosed the price for the first time. It has been expected that the drug will treat the spinal muscular atrophy. Novartis said that it would provide rebates to insurance companies if the drug didn¡¯t work.
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A competing drug - Spinraza - is already in the market but Spinraza must be continued to be injected into the spines of the patients for their whole lives. Novartis pointed out that the high cost of its drug is still 50% less than this drug.
"We believe by taking this responsible approach, we will help patients benefit from this transformative medical innovation and generate significant cost savings for the system over time,'' said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis.
Novartis will set up five-year payment plans for states, small insurance companies, and self-insured employers to help them cope with the high costs of the therapy.