; Price Tag Is $37,000 a Year -
By KATIE THOMASMARCH 28, 2017
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a drug to treat people with a serious form
of eczema, a potential breakthrough for people who have suffered for years without relief.
Although many patients with insurance will not be asked to pay the full $37,000, consumers have been more exposed to rising prices in recent years
because insurers often require them to pay a percentage of a drug’s list price — sometimes up to half — or pay the full price until their deductible is met.
With breakthrough treatments, “companies can really go to the high end of
that demand for reimbursement,” Dr. Miller said, “and all we have is the bully pulpit to complain about it.”
In trying to reach an agreement before approval, Dr. Miller said, “this is how the system is supposed to work.”
Christine Cramer, a spokeswoman for CVS Health, another leading pharmacy benefit manager, said, “While we believe our advocacy
on behalf of our clients did ultimately influence Regeneron’s initial pricing strategy, the drug will be expensive.”
But Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines program at Public Citizen, a consumer group, noted
that negotiations still took place out of the public eye and within the context of a system that is inherently unfair.
The drug, to be called Dupixent, will carry a list price of $37,000 a year, a hefty price tag
for patients who are increasingly being asked to pay a larger share of the drugs they take.