The prospect sounds promising: patients need only one injection and they are cured afterwards of dangerous diseases such as blood disease. the Roche and Novartis follow the progress and invest billion in acquisitions of companies that develop these new gene therapies.
The enthusiasm for the progress to tilting, but in horror, if the pharmaceutical industry revealed the price tag for their innovations. The therapy Luxturna against the Blindness, what are the Roches acquisition has developed in a goal-Spark, 850’000 dollars cost.
From the point of view of the industry, such receivables are rational: For each Patient you can sell the resources only once. It is naive to demand from the industry, moderation. In international competition, Roche and Novartis no success, you threaten to be a competitor swallowed. The price brake will have to come from the regulators.
It is naive to demand from the industry, moderation. The price brake will have to come from the regulators.
The gene therapy provide regulators and the industry alike. The business and remuneration models need to be re-thought. The pharmaceutical bosses will also be aware of. As Roche CEO Severin Schwan suggests that health systems should pay for the new therapies in Rates. And basically, the industry sees only money, if the treatment is working.
Sounds simple in theory, in practice it is. According to the competent Federal office of public health, for example, installment payments are not legally possible. And in order to measure the success of the therapy is missing, the office is simply the access to the patient data.
It is time that the remuneration systems keep pace with the speed of Innovation in the industry. This does not mean that the industry will prevail with your price demands. How much us an additional year of age is at high quality value, this question will also need to decide officials. Such questions belong to the Parliament.
(editing Tamedia)
Created: 25.02.2019, 21:17 PM