Excerpt from, "Neurology Now" : February/March 2018 - Volume 14 - Issue 1 - p 40–45
RESISTANCE TO COMPETITION. Some prices for neurologic drugs remain high decades after they were introduced, long after the manufacturer presumably recouped its investment. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a classic example, says Dennis Bourdette, MD, FAAN, chair of the department of neurology and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “The three original drugs for MS—interferon beta-1a (Avonex), interferon beta-1b (Betaseron), and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone)—all have annual prices over $80,000, even though they have been on the market since the mid-1990s. And when a new drug enters the market, the prices of these drugs don't go down to compete with the new medication; instead, they've often gone up.”
In fact, the average annual cost of MS therapy rose from $16,000 in 2004 to $78,000 in 2016, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A letter to seven manufacturers of MS drugs from House Democrats in August 2017 accusing them of “shadow pricing”—hiking prices to meet the price of newer entrants in the drug market—and requesting answers about the price hikes. No further action has been taken at this time.
Tags: Neurology Now, Dennis Bourdette MD, Multiple Sclerosis Center at Oregon Health and Science University, Avonex, Betaseron, Copaxone
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